TACLOBAN CITY - The dead are just lying on the road and the living are walking around in a daze.
After more than 24 hours of no communication at all from Tacloban, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas confirmed Saturday what many had feared-that many lives were lost in Leyte province when Supertyphoon Yolanda unleashed its wrath there on Friday.
Most of the deaths were caused by drowning due to storm surges, when water driven by strong winds rose from the sea and rushed in torrents ashore, washing away everything on their path.
The supertyphoon flattened 90 per cent of Leyte province and it would likely take a month to restore power lines, said Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla.
"This is quite a disaster," said Petilla, who is from Palo, one of hardest-hit towns.
Petilla said the people of Leyte heeded the warnings of the government to evacuate and prepare for the weather disturbance, but "this typhoon was just too strong."
Gazmin said he saw a woman walking while holding a dead child. He saw collapsed buildings, uprooted trees, overturned cars, people going around in rags and roads waiting to be cleared.
Looting by people driven by hunger has also been reported, indicating a breakdown in peace and order.
There is no system in place, as the government is only just beginning to get relief and rescue work organised and on Saturday, the city was virtually incommunicado, officials said.
Gazmin said the government was prioritizing help for those who are alive. The most pressing need was for food and water, according to local officials.
The military has set up a command base at the Tacloban airport, which was left in shambles after the storm surge overwhelmed the coastal Barangay San Jose where it is located."
Even for a country that regularly get hit by typhoons, this Super Typhoon Yolanda (or 'Haiyan') is different. It was a category 5 Hurricane, the biggest on the measuring scale for wind strength, and the first to hit land at this strength too!
Lessons for me are:
1. time and again nature has won whenever there is a bout between man and nature in such a disaster. It shows who is the real master of the world even though man has, through its intelligence, created many devices and methods to make life easier in the worst situations;
2. while many lives have been lost and countless properties destroyed (which is really secondary as when you have life, there is still hope to rebuild, albeit a painful process, especially those who had to carry on with some loved ones killed in this disaster), MANY MORE who heeded the severe storm warning were safe. The toll of more than 10,000 deads could have been higher if not for man's equipment and ability to at least see the storm coming!;
3. what make this disaster suddenly real for Singaporeans like me was the news that 3 Singaporean girls who were staying at their host in the affected area in the Philippines went unaccounted for after the storm. I hope that they and their hosts are SAFE from harm. They were there doing volunteering work as dietricians! This is simply NOT right if they had a mishap like this. So, looking at the positive side until we are informed otherwise.
There were some insensitive comments in AsiaOne.com forum pages that Singaporeans should not help in the aide effort for this disaster due to the 'invasion and taking away jobs from Singaporeans by the PMETs from the Philippines'. This is NOT the time and the place to write about such thing. Seriously. Lack of sensivity!
After more than 24 hours of no communication at all from Tacloban, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas confirmed Saturday what many had feared-that many lives were lost in Leyte province when Supertyphoon Yolanda unleashed its wrath there on Friday.
Most of the deaths were caused by drowning due to storm surges, when water driven by strong winds rose from the sea and rushed in torrents ashore, washing away everything on their path.
The supertyphoon flattened 90 per cent of Leyte province and it would likely take a month to restore power lines, said Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla.
"This is quite a disaster," said Petilla, who is from Palo, one of hardest-hit towns.
Petilla said the people of Leyte heeded the warnings of the government to evacuate and prepare for the weather disturbance, but "this typhoon was just too strong."
Gazmin said he saw a woman walking while holding a dead child. He saw collapsed buildings, uprooted trees, overturned cars, people going around in rags and roads waiting to be cleared.
Looting by people driven by hunger has also been reported, indicating a breakdown in peace and order.
There is no system in place, as the government is only just beginning to get relief and rescue work organised and on Saturday, the city was virtually incommunicado, officials said.
Gazmin said the government was prioritizing help for those who are alive. The most pressing need was for food and water, according to local officials.
The military has set up a command base at the Tacloban airport, which was left in shambles after the storm surge overwhelmed the coastal Barangay San Jose where it is located."
Even for a country that regularly get hit by typhoons, this Super Typhoon Yolanda (or 'Haiyan') is different. It was a category 5 Hurricane, the biggest on the measuring scale for wind strength, and the first to hit land at this strength too!
Lessons for me are:
1. time and again nature has won whenever there is a bout between man and nature in such a disaster. It shows who is the real master of the world even though man has, through its intelligence, created many devices and methods to make life easier in the worst situations;
2. while many lives have been lost and countless properties destroyed (which is really secondary as when you have life, there is still hope to rebuild, albeit a painful process, especially those who had to carry on with some loved ones killed in this disaster), MANY MORE who heeded the severe storm warning were safe. The toll of more than 10,000 deads could have been higher if not for man's equipment and ability to at least see the storm coming!;
3. what make this disaster suddenly real for Singaporeans like me was the news that 3 Singaporean girls who were staying at their host in the affected area in the Philippines went unaccounted for after the storm. I hope that they and their hosts are SAFE from harm. They were there doing volunteering work as dietricians! This is simply NOT right if they had a mishap like this. So, looking at the positive side until we are informed otherwise.
There were some insensitive comments in AsiaOne.com forum pages that Singaporeans should not help in the aide effort for this disaster due to the 'invasion and taking away jobs from Singaporeans by the PMETs from the Philippines'. This is NOT the time and the place to write about such thing. Seriously. Lack of sensivity!
No comments:
Post a Comment