Five years after Philippines' strongest typhoon, scores still in harm's way

41SHARES400

(Agence France-Presse) 

TACLOBAN, Philippines — Diofel Llamado fled for his life when Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) devastated the Philippines in 2013, yet today he is back living in the same coastal area – even if it puts him in the crosshairs of a future killer storm.

On the fifth anniversary of the country’s deadliest typhoon on record, his return is emblematic of the struggle in developing nations to move people out of homes in the most disaster-menaced zones.

It is an especially urgent danger as monster storms strike ever more frequently, packing destructive rainfall that experts say is supercharged by climate change.

“You cannot think that you are safe,” Llamado, 55, told AFP. “Even when you are sleeping, you have to think like a soldier: one foot is in the graveyard.”

Yolanda struck in the predawn darkness of Nov. 8, 2013 as the then strongest typhoon to ever hit land, leaving more than 7,360 people dead or missing across the central Philippines.

The wall of seawater the typhoon sent crashing into densely populated areas – known as storm surge – is one of the key reasons it was so deadly.

Many people simply did not understand the term and did not evacuate despite official warnings.

Even some who fled were not spared – Llamado’s two daughters were killed when the rushing water collapsed an evacuation center.

Yet he has returned to live in the same storm surge-threatened area where his family lived before Yolanda.

Llamado says his small business making savory pastries would not survive a move, adding that the government-proposed housing in a safer area doesn’t even have running water and electricity.

“If someone will offer us a means of livelihood, we can live there. But until that happens, how will we survive?” he asked. “No one is going to give you food.”

Lesson not learned

His decision echoes the calculus poor people make in other calamity-prone nations in Asia and Africa, said Moustafa Osman, a Britain-based disaster management expert.

“Everywhere the single most difficult thing to do is to move people from their own village or territory and put them in a strange place,” he said.

“Unless you have a proper plan and a better alternative they won’t go,” he added.

Substandard housing, difficulties in earning a livelihood, no transportation and even conflict with the existing residents of a resettlement area are habitual barriers.

In the Philippines, roughly 15,000 of the poorest families were ordered relocated from the worst-hit city of Tacloban, yet many have not moved and those who have are struggling.

Maria Rosario Felizco, Oxfam country director for the Philippines, said the need to locate communities in areas less vulnerable to disasters has not been fully met.

“That’s the lesson we must learn. We must not wait for... a disaster before we think of that,” she said.

The peril that looms over communities in the Philippines and elsewhere is only expected to grow because of the influence of global warming on extreme weather.

Oxford University climate expert Friederike Otto said there is a clear connection between climate change and heavier, devastating rainfall.

The storms packing these intense rains are expected to get more harmful as the impact of climate change manifests itself, and because so many vulnerable communities live in threatened areas.

“How destructive a storm is crucially depends on who and what is in harm’s way,” Otto said.   

Cebu Yolanda Survivors to Duterte: Don't forget about us!

Survivors of Super Typhoon Yolanda in Cebu seek help from president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, hoping that he would speed up rehabilitation of typhoon-hit towns

By Richale 

Cabauatan

UNFINISHED. Prescilla Jumao-as stands in front of her house, which was constructed after Super Typhoon Yolanda struck in 2013. The house remains unfinished.

CEBU, Philippines – Filipinos in northern Cebu will never forget who and what they lost to Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) on November 8, 2013.

Yolanda destroyed towns in the Eastern Visayas before plowing through northern Cebu.

Two and a half years later, most of the survivors of Yolanda are still suffering. Many of them say they have not fully recovered. (READ: Yolanda rehab: Only 30% complete as 2016 begins)

Last Monday, May 9, they trooped to the polls and voted for the first time since the typhoon struck.

What do the Yolanda survivors want from their leaders?

'We want homes'

"Kung maka-storya man gani nako ang sunod nga presidente... i-ampo gyud nako nga kami, mga biktima sa Yolanda, hatagan niya ug mga balay nga matawag gyud namo nga puy-anan," said a teary-eyed Prescilla Jumao-as.

(If I could talk to the president... I pray that he would give us, victims of Yolanda, houses we can really call home.)

Jumao-as, 65, said the government promised her a new home in 2013. Two and a half years later, she's still waiting.

What's worse, she added, is that her grandchildren had to suffer with her.

MAKESHIFT HOME. Tents housing Yolanda survivors haven't disappeared in Daanbantayan, Cebu. Photo by Richale Cabauatan/Rappler

Jumao-as was dropped from the list of survivors who needed housing and was never told why. She believes it's because she knows no one from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). NGOs which promised to help also never returned.

Jumao-as said it seems that the government has forgotten about them. "And maybe God has, too?" she wondered.

She is now pinning her hopes on president-elect Rodrigo Duterte.

Free education

DREAMING. Catherine Bentulan dreams of free education for her children.

"Dili gyud siya sayon uy. Dili gyud," said Catherine Bentulan, a mother of 4.

(It's not easy. It really isn't.)

"Giampo gyud nako nga kung kinsa man gani ang musunod nga presidente, iyaha gyung himuon nga libre ang edukasyon para sa pareha namo nga dili pa gyud kaya ipadala sa eskwelahan ang among mga anak," Bentulan told Rappler.

(I pray that whoever the next president is, he makes education free for people like us who can't afford to send our kids to school.)

Bentulan's eldest child is in college; the second one, a 9th grader; and the third one, in elementary school. Her youngest is a toddler.

She was 4 months pregnant the day Yolanda destroyed their house, which had just been standing for a week and hadn't even been furnished yet. She had a miscarriage in the days following the typhoon.

Although Bentulan often wishes that her baby had lived, she said that what happened might have been for the best: "I'm glad he or she didn't live a day to experience our hardships."

Bentulan shared that even before Yolanda came, they struggled to send their kids to school.

She hopes to see the next president, even if he weren't the one she voted for, prioritize education for under-privileged families like hers.

Higher pension

PENSION. Lorita Alarde hopes president-elect Rodrigo Duterte will prioritize increasing pensions for senior citizens like her.

"I hope pensions will rise. Today, it's not enough to raise a family. I'm old, you see. I can't work anymore. They don't hire the elderly and I have grandchildren to feed," said Lorita Alarde, 85 years old.

When Alarde's husband, Fernando, died in 1985, she had to make do with the small pension he left her. She had no job. She was always tending to the house and to the children.

A P3,500-pension today is not enough to provide for her 6 grandchildren, she said.

Alarde hopes Duterte will listen to the elderly like her – and fast – because she believes she doesn't have much time left.

Programs for farmers, fishermen

CABINET. Ruben Jumao-as shares that the cabinet behind him is the only possession that he was able to save during Super Typhoon Yolanda.

"I hope he gives more attention to the farmers and the fishermen. Give them more jobs and privileges," said Ruben Jumao-as, who has worked as a caretaker of a hacienda for more than 20 years.

Yolanda damaged hectares of the sugarcane plantation he takes care of. Tall sugarcanes turned into twigs scattered on the ground after the typhoon came. The plantation has yet to fully recover.

Jumao-as said it's painful for him to see the farmers working under these conditions. "They always seem tired and unappreciated," he said.

Big businesses, he added, make it even worse for farmers and fishermen who make so much less even with all their efforts combined.

Jumao-as relayed his message to Duterte: "Mr President, please take care of our farmers and our fishermen." – Rappler.com

Richale Cabauatan is a Rappler intern and Mover.

Six Months after Super Typhoon Yolanda

From Day One After Yolanda until Today: Solid German Support for Rehabilitation Continues

Since the onset of Yolanda, Germany has been relentless in the outpour of support for those devastated by the typhoon. German humanitarian relief organizations have been among the first who reached the Philippines from abroad to help the victims of Typhoon Yolanda – through a Lufthansa plane scheduled to fly from Germany to Manila for its regular servicing, which was loaded with relief goods after early news of the typhoon’s damage hit the screens.

Until today, German relief organizations have been working non-stop in the typhoon-stricken areas, funded by massive donations of the German civil society and funds from the German Government – released within a heartbeat following news of the typhoon’s devastation.

To quantify this support: more than 176 million Euros, (Php 10.7 billion) for relief and rehabilitation efforts in the regions affected by Typhoon Yolanda came from Germany. Out of these, an outstanding 144 million Euros (Php 8.7 billion) are made up of German private donations to relief organizations actively operating in the Visayas regions. In addition to private donations, the German government contributed a total of 32 million Euros (Php 2 billion) out of which 16 million Euros were given in humanitarian aid for the immediate relief of victims of the typhoon, while 16 million Euros were allocated for reconstruction of areas destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda.

Until today, many German aid organizations are implementing reconstruction programs in the areas hit by the Typhoon. Examples are: Johanniter Unfallhilfe, Malteser International and Plan International.

Johanniter Unfallhilfe is working on the islands of Panay and Leyte. Johanniter’s main activities on Panay focus on the repair of infrastructure such as barangay halls, health and day care centers, class rooms, sea walls, rainwater catchments, foot bridges, community halls, as well as the installation of water filtration systems. This project, which is co-funded by German Bank Foundation (GBS) and Johanniter reaches 7,000 direct and 1,500 indirect beneficiaries.

Rebuilding of homes by Malteser International (© Photo: Fulvio Zanettini/ADH)

 

In the immediate aftermath of the typhoon, Malteser International from Germany distributed food, hygiene kits, water containers and relief items to about 9,000 families. A water treatment unit provided clean drinking water to an entire village. To date, 250 houses have been repaired, 52 large tents were set up as classrooms and play areas, and 800 families received tarpaulins. Malteser International distributed school materials to almost 2,500 school children as well as tools for cleanup and farming tools to the villagers. Over the past year, Malteser International, in partnership with the Philippine Association of the Order of Malta initiated a relief and recovery program with 4 communities on Samar and Bantayan Island affected by Typhoon Yolanda. Its comprehensive program seeks to assist vulnerable families and communities to recover after the disaster, through disaster resistant and inclusive housing reconstruction, school rehabilitation, water systems repairs, targeted home improvements, youth training, and small livelihood activities. 200 shelters have been provided with 500 more to be constructed. Malteser International will also seek to strengthen local knowledge about safe construction. Young adults will receive training in carpentry and masonry as well as disaster relief actions as part of a program in cooperation with a local vocational training agency.

Plan International has received support from the German Federal Foreign Office for activities that aim to strengthen climate resiliency of the local population in the rehabilitation efforts.

Green Skills Training participants showing their output for the day (Day 2) - solar dryer and Liquid fertilizer, mouldings (© Plan International) As part of the program, communities receive trainings in green technology such as the construction and use of solar dryers that can cut the drying time for fish or other food in half, retained heat cookers, organic fertilizers and char making stoves using debris fuel instead of cutting mangroves. These sustainable green technologies utilize indigenous materials and enable a more efficient use of natural resources or debris. Energy costs are reduced and waste management is improved.

Tacloban to Hold Memorial Service for Still Unidentified Victims of Yolanda

The Tacloban City government will hold a memorial service on November 1 for more than 2,000 victims of super typhoon Yolanda buried in a mass grave in Brgy. Vasper.

“We are going to do a memorial service in the mass grave in order to put closure to this, that people will know that it's time to move on,” said Tacloban City mayor Alfred Romualdez in an interview with GMA News' Saksi aired Thursday evening.

“We've given them (victims) proper burial. Now we will give them proper rites,” he added.


According to the report, there were a total of 2,273 individuals whose remains were buried at the mass grave at Holy Cross Memorial Garden in Brgy. Vasper. Majority of these individuals remain unidentified by their families though the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has already conducted DNA testing on the remains.

The city government, however, assured that the DNA test results of each body buried in the mass grave have been stored in the NBI database to help relatives in tracing and verifying the identity of the remains.

The mass grave was divided into 157 lots, with each lot measuring four meters by eight meters.

Leandro Alapoop, caretaker of the mass grave, said there were 20 bodies buried in each lot.

“Oo, magkakatabi. Bale nakasalansan lang isa-isa. Hindi naman nag-aabot 'yung katawan. Maganda ang pagkalagay namin,” recounted Alapoop on how they buried the remains being examined by the NBI since December last year.

He said families of the victims may request to recover the remains and transfer them to another cemetery as long as they can prove the identity of a particular body.

The report said that as early as Wednesday, some residents of Tacloban started arriving at the Holy Cross mass grave to light candles and bring flowers despite not knowing if their departed loved ones were really buried in the area.

For Eric Cidro, the least he can do to ease the pain of losing his wife, two children, parents and some other relatives when Yolanda hit the city in November last year, was to pray for them at the mass grave.

Cidro was left with only a sole photograph of his wife.

Though he was not able to see the remains of any member of his family, Cidro said he will offer flowers and candles at the mass grave and pray for the repose of the souls of his loved ones nonetheless.

“Wala talaga. May nakakita daw pero hindi na maituro kung nasaan,” Cidro said.

On November 8 last year, Yolanda ripped through central Philippines, claiming over 6,000 lives and leaving P39-billion worth of damages.  

—Elizabeth Marcelo/KG, GMA News

Philippine Christians on Charity Walk for Typhoon Victims

Thousands of members of an influential Christian group in the Philippines have walked in a fundraising rally for victims of November's typhoon. Former footballer and UNICEF ambassador David Beckham also paid a visit. 

Police in Manila said 200,000 people took part in the walk on Saturday to raise money for survivors of one of the country's worst-ever typhoons. All those who walked the three kilometers along the capital's seaside avenue bought special white t-shirts to wear during the march, with all proceeds being donated to help victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

The walkers were members of the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) which has at least three million members in the largely Catholic nation of 100 million people. The group's conservative members tend to vote as a group and are, as a result, politically significant.

It is a hundred days since Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines on November 8, killing more than six thousand people and displacing four million. A million homes were either damaged or destroyed. Many people are still living in tents and other temporary shelters supplied by an international humanitarian effort led by the United Nations.

"We cannot afford to be complacent," Luiza Carvalho, the UN coordinator for the Philippines, said on Saturday. "The need for durable shelter for millions of people whose homes were damaged or destroyed is critical."

"Millions of livelihoods were similarly destroyed or impaired when the typhoon tore down or damaged 33 million coconut trees, flooded fields with saltwater and took away or wrecked 30,000 fishing vessels," Carvalho added.

Carvalho also called for more donations to help the survivors. She said that only 45 percent of the UN's aid appeal for $788 million (575 million euros) launched in December has been raised so far.

Beckham benefit

Former footballer David Beckham paid a two-day visit to typhoon-hit areas in his role as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). On Friday he played football with children on the sports field of a ruined school in Tanauan, one of the towns worst hit by the typhoon. Earlier he had visited a health care center.

“As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, seeing how children are being given a sense of normality amidst the rubble of their communities has been amazing,” Beckham said via a UNICEF blog. “I want to show people around the world how their generous donations have had an enormous impact on children and their families and how thankful people here are for their kindness.”

jm/dr (dpa, AFP)

(C) DW.DE

Worse Than Hell

Re-posted of my column published in MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR from November 14, 2013 with friendy permission of my publisher Marietta F. Siongco

"Yes, "Yolanda", the world's strongest typhoon, was it indeed.

Actually I had another topic for today's column in mind. But Monday (November 11, 2013) the program manager of German News TV Channel N-24 in Berlin gave me a ring asking me if I would like to become their new Philippine correspondent. Right now because of typhoon "Yolanda" and in future for reports from the Philippines. I agreed and, just out of the blue, I delivered three live reports over the phone. N-24, similar to the Philippine ANC is screening "breaking news" regarding the situation in the Philippines since yesterday every 30 minutes. The N-24 camera team and reporters didn't get the chance yet to visit the affected areas.

This morning, my inbox has been overloaded by tons of emails sent to me - especially from Grman-Philippine families living in Germany. Many questions are on the table:Where is the plan and why the coordination between the rescue teams is not working? Today's (November 11, 2013) MIRROR's editoril asks also: "Where is the plan? ... What worries us is the rather slow progress of rescue and relief efforts and the apparent lack of any coordinated plan to get every possible help to the affected areas!"

I learned from several private groups, individuals and the German Red Cross, that they don't want to wait any longer. Fact is, and I mentioned it also in my previous TV reports: We are really mistaken believing and expecting goverment to have prepared its rescue and relief efforts before the typhoon arrived.

My heart - and not only mine - bleeds for all the people of the Visayas Regin, especially those families, who lost loved ones and for those who perished in the world's strongest typhoon to make landfall.

German Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle at the ASEM - Foreign Minister Meeting in New Delhi started his speech: "On behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany I would like to expressy Typhoon  our heartfelt condolences and symphaties to the victims and the families who have suffered immense losses by lives and properties by Typhoon 'Yolanda'. Germany stands ready to assist and swiftly deliver humanitarian aid!"

Yes, the situation is worse than hell. And it will become more. What is the intensification of "hell"...?"