MANILA, Philippines - Tacloban and other parts of Leyte were not the only places severely hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda. “Eastern Samar is gone,” Rep. Ben Evardone of the province lamented yesterday as he sought emergency assistance for his home province. Evardone made the assessment after he was able to visit even remote towns in Eastern Samar on Monday by hitching rides on helicopters and trucks. He has helped marshal social workers, soldiers and volunteers to distribute aid to the victims, but sighs, “I really don’t know where to start. I cannot imagine the devastation that hit my province.” As he saw the province from a helicopter, he told himself, “There is no more Eastern Samar province.” “You cannot recognize it. The devastation was horrific,” he told reporters, his voice cracking. He said he flew over the coastal municipalities that were swept away by a storm surge triggered by Yolanda, including the historic Balangiga and Homonhon towns up to Guiuan, where the monster howler first made landfall. “Until now, I have goose bumps. When I saw one island barangay there called Victory, it’s really wiped out, you couldn’t see a thing,” he said. Evardone, a former governor of the province, said President Aquino himself arranged for his transport loaded with relief goods so he would be able assist his constituents. He said since the local government infrastructure had ceased to exist, policemen and soldiers had to be deployed to Guiuan because of reports of looting. Compounding the situation, he said, is the escape of over 160 inmates from Guiuan. He appealed to the international donor communities not to focus only on Tacloban City as Samar had also suffered heavily with 11 of its 23 municipalities the hardest hit by the killer typhoon. “I don’t know how we will be able to rise because 80 percent of my constituents rely on coconut but now the coconut trees are either uprooted or toppled down, and it takes five to 10 years to replant,” he said. “If you use a new variety, we’d be lucky three to five years to harvest coconut and in the meantime – three to five years what will you do? With your children?”
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 03:17:00 +0000
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