My Insights on Yolanda , The Strongest Typhoon that Made Its Presence Known Globally. The day AFTER Yolanda hit Samar & Leyte ( where here in CSJDM, we hardly had a drizzle), I was waiting for news on the intensity of damages in the affected provinces and read none. I even told Vic that maybe the typhoon lost power along the way. When the horrifying stories started coming in, I could not believed the extent of devastation. It crossed my mind that typhoons with local code names that start with Y is frightening. I remember Yoling when i was young. It was the first eerie howling wind that I had heard. I remembered hiding under the blankets and lying on the floor beside the narra sofa situated between the master bedroom and Marybens bedroom for the entire duration of that typhoon. Last Monday, when I watched the video of Love Anover crying as she narrated her personal trauma during the 2 hour wrath of nature , I could not control my emotions and broke into tears as well. I read the FB post that had been going viral about a Lt. Col. who lost his two young (PMA graduates) officers when their barracks broke into splinters as the storm surge went inland. Of how he was swept away by the frightening swells of the seas and how he ended up with a young boy who was also thrown at the mercy of the massive waves. That he almost lost his will to survive if not for the protective instinct he felt for the young boy. Of how miraculously they survived their harrowing experience. I also read the story of a 44 year old school teacher whose house collapsed like it was playing cards stacked on top of each other. She saw her daughter pierced by a jagged piece of wood that used to be part of their house. She crawled beside the daughter and tried to pull her out of the debris but the daughter was too weak and asked her to let go and saved herself. Of which she did..left a dying child breath her last on her own. Maybe the panic overwhelmed her but that woman will be fraught with survivors guilt for the rest of her life. Im not condemning her though. I guess, the mind thinks differently if one is in great danger. I watched a GMA 7 reporter narrating that she saw the lifeless body of a baby, the mother and a young man inside a car. In the same 2 hour walk she went through, to get to Tacloban City, to rejoin the GMA news team, she saw bloated stiff bodies of persons who were still clinging to gates or fence grills. I knew I had to volunteer or do something to pay my homage for the determination of those who survived. I went to the Phil. Red Cross in Mandaluyong last night. It was tiring and my sore back and arms still reminds me of how much sweat trickled out of my body. There were so many volunteers that repacking and sacking can be done in less than half an hour. That even if the PRC employees already asked most to go home, no one left and just looked for things to be fixed or prep while waiting for donations. Im happy that the bayanihan spirit is alive and ablaze. Im moved to tears that a lot of foreign aids such as medical teams and equipments are coming from all over the world. I was awed by the help of Israel ( specially sending over a mobile hospital with state of the art surgical equipments when they are experiencing political strife themselves with neighboring Arab countries ) and Turkey. I didnt even know that we had good diplomatic ties with some of the countries that sent help. I was elated that the SARS carrier chinese vessels left Ayungin Shoal before the onslaught of Yolanda. Obviously, to protect themselves but what matters are they are gone for now. Equally pleasing for me was the arrival of the US aircraft carrier and warships ( even though the purpose is to help in the distribution of relief goods, recovery and clearing ops.) Maybe, we can position now our newly acquired frigs farther than Ayungin Shoal but within our 200 nautical miles territory. Palo, Leyte is just two jeepney ride away from Tacloban City and where larger than life statues of Gen. D. McArthur , his troops and Carlos Romulo can be seen. When I heard Palo was affected, I wondered what state the park was in now. Did the statutes got washed away too? The park faces the sea. I remembered going there very early 3 years ago and since no breathing mammal (except me) seemed to be around, climbed the iron & cement fence and waded through the man made pool where the statues stand tall and glimmering.It was painted a deep shade of ochre. Suddenly, I heard a whistle and was asked by the park sweeper to go back to dry grounds because the ankle deep pool was off limits. Sheepishly, I obeyed. (MORE SERIOUS TOPIC TO CONTINUE... NEED TO LEAVE THE HOUSE ASAP!}
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 03:27:05 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015