When Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines on November 8, 2013, it pounded the island of Leyte with winds near 315 kilometers (195 miles) per hour and a tremendous storm surge. In Tacloban City, winds blew a wall of water ashore that may have been as much as 7.5 meters (24.6 feet) high.
Zosima A. Cordaño, the city treasurer, remembers November 8, 2013 and the days that followed like they were yesterday. Here, she tells her story.
“In the days before November 7, the Mayor Romualdez provided instructions to inform all the barangay officials to go to safe ground, secure their things, and secure their families. In fact, during our last Department Heads meeting, the Mayor was already giving directions to the Chief of Police to force people to evacuate. If the people did not want to go to safer grounds, the barangay officials would ask them to sign a waiver – that was the instruction. As a Department Head, I was part of these preparation meetings that were being held by the Mayor.
Right after November 8, after the super typhoon… It seems that an atomic bomb had been dropped upon us. That was my first impression. All the trees in our neighborhood, all of the houses, I cannot imagine how to describe it.
Together with my son, we went to the office to secure the documents there. As we walked, we came across others… They were telling me that so many people had died, that there were dead bodies lying in the streets.
I began to cry. Everyone was in a mess. People did not know where to go. It seemed that all of us, we were walking, with no sound at all… I looked into their eyes, and they were lifeless: just walking, carrying their remaining things, with blank stares on their faces.
We are already prone to typhoons as a tropical country, but we are not expecting this – Yolanda, to be as great, as big as it was.
In the office, everything here was broken all over – all our things, blown away – there was water everywhere. All the windows, all the doors, were all broken. Part of the roof was blown away. Fortunately I had already instructed the city engineer to cover this window (in her office) with the plywood because the vaults were kept here.
The good thing that happened after Yolanda, was that all of us tried to care for each other. We tried to help each other, in our own way. There were many selfless acts of giving. People gave anything they had, for those among us. That’s probably why, sooner than expected, we were able to stand. We all shared something during the experience that cannot be easily understood by those who were not there. We are now resilient, and we share everything we have: even if it is small. Because you care. Because we are all survivors. We are vigilant among us.
Then, the RAY DILG fund came which have helped us in the reconstruction and recovery program of the city.
“Yolanda brought almost total destruction to the market building. It took about 4 more months before we were able to go back and sell here.
I became aware that the market would be rehabilitated when we saw the repair works starting… The rehabilitation was a big help since now we can go back to our old stalls. We are very excited to go back and move away from where we are currently located now, which is a bit smelly and dirty. Things would be easier when we have our stalls back.
Business is also better in the market since people do not have to go out of their way to buy from us, since we are all inside the market area. The only concern is parking, as it is quite a challenge to find parking space near the market.
Rudolph M. Mate, General Services Ofﬁcer of Tacloban City Convention Center narrates his Yolanda experience.
“Everybody was normal during that day. No-one believed that Yolanda would cause big trouble for the city. We are used to big typhoons but our forefathers had never told us stories about storm surges. So when we heard about Yolanda and that it was going to have a storm surge, it was ordinary for us. We never knew that it would be such a strong typhoon, and that all of us would be affected.
I was recovering from prostate cancer at the time of Yolanda because i had been operated on that September. The very day before Yolanda, I was discharged from the hospital. It was fortunate, otherwise the next day there would have been no hospital, no doctors, no nurses. I was very lucky, as I was well taken care of.
During the coming of Yolanda, we safeguarded the house. Then after that, we stayed at my grandfather’s house in downtown area. We never knew that during November 8, that house would be submerged with seawater also around 12-15 feet. It’s not even ordinary sea water, it was mud water. We could not return to our house after two days, because of the debris. There were dead bodies, all around the downtown area. Most of the water damage we experienced was downtown. In fact, the whole area of downtown Tacloban was submerged.
We never knew that we would be able to go back to regain what we have lost, because without international and local groups… I think Tacloban would not be as you see now. We ourselves, we cannot do it, even to clean up Tacloban, we cannot do it. But because everyone was helping, around the world, (we were able to do it).
It’s already two years. We are so happy, that people are still here, still helping. It makes us feel very glad.
These buildings are bringing lives back to normal. All that help coming from the national government, and from NGOs, make us feel like normal again: because these are the facilities that we can use”.
“The storm surge reached our office (at the provincial civic center). It was high, up to the window panels. All the garbage was here. We wrapped everything in garbage bags: computers, documents, equipment, but it was not enough.
We have two civic center facilities. One is being rented by a business processing outsourcing (BPO) company. Because of the typhoon, the whole roofing were destroyed which damaged most of their computers. The second building is the gymnasium in which all the provincial activities are being done. It was also destroyed, especially the roofing.
When the gymnasium was repaired, we used it as stockroom for all the supplies and relief goods we received. From the province, we distribute it to other municipalities. Other INGOs would also use the facilities to safe keep their supplies.
Before the landfall of Yolanda, Regional Director Pedro A. Noval, Jr. Ceso III joined the meeting called by the former DILG Secretary, Mar Roxas.
“Secretary Roxas came and gathered us, all the local government units in Eastern Visayas. We had a meeting and discussed the preparations we made for the coming of Yolanda. The meeting ended at around 9:00 pm, that’s when we started to feel the strong wind.
I returned back in the DILG regional office to prepare for the impact of Yolanda. We had evacuees who came in the office, more particularly from our regional staff and some of them were neighbors and relatives.
At around 11 pm to 12 midnight, Yolanda started to batter us. It lasted until 5:00 am. Because of the strong wind, we heard a blast at the second floor. It was like an atomic bomb. All of us stayed in my office. Everyone was crying even myself but I have to control my emotions and stay strong for them so that they would not be discouraged.
Exactly 6:25 am, the wind was weak already so I went outside. Then, I saw Secretary Roxas roaming around. So, I approached him and reported that “I’m alive”. Then, he replied: “good, we have survived”.
Post Yolanda, we reported immediately all the damaged facilities in the local government units. I also reported to him the damage in our regional office and within our compound: our office, dormitory, guard house, evacuation center and other facilities. We are happy because the Secretary immediately responded to our request.
As we implement the RAY DILG projects, we ensured that all the repairs and construction that we are doing in the office and in the LGU include and observe the “build back better” policy as instructed by our President.
The DILG Region VIII office has since been rehabilitated with support from RAY funds – July 2015.
The effect of our project is to normalize the operations in the LGU, so that the people will feel that the national government is really helping and supporting the LGUs, to bring back what has been lost due of Yolanda,“ he said.
Typhoons are ‘nothing new’ to the townsfolk of Villaba, a coastal municipality situated in western Leyte.
“Typhoons are really part of our lives, especially as we are facing the sea,” Myrna Ombajen, a local market vendor explains.
Yet Super Typhoon Yolanda proved another experience entirely, she explains.
“The strength of Yolanda was way beyond our expectations. The sound of the wind was like a helicopter. Cars were being thrown through the air. The market was damaged, my house was damaged,” she remembers.
“After Yolanda, our municipality was like a ghost town,” Gino V. Esmero, a local DSWD worker, explains.
“Almost all of the houses were damaged. Debris, trash and mud were everywhere. When the people saw that their houses were damaged, they either cried or screamed out in despair,” Gino added.
The DSWD office is situated within the civic center, which served as an evacuation center during the disaster.
“Those who evacuated there hid under the bleachers when the strong winds stripped the roof away, piece by piece,” Mayor Jorge added.
Afterwards, local staff used tarpaulins as makeshift shelter. Often, it would first rain, then flood. However, until repairs could begin, they could only make do in the terrible conditions.
The municipality would receive assistance from a number of local government and international aid agencies.
The civic center provides a vital venue for local community and government activities. “We use it for our fiesta activities and for basketball tournaments. Our schools are also using it for their induction activities and high school orientation programs. For us in DSWD, we use it as our venue for our trainings and orientation seminars,” Gino says.
Yet in the year since Yolanda, attitudes towards preparation, evacuation and post-disaster relief had changed considerably. “When we heard about Ruby, we instantly secured our belongings. We wrapped everything in plastic especially the documents in our office,” Gino says.
The municipality of Tunga, smallest both in land area and population in Leyte province, experienced the strong intensity of Super Typhoon Yolanda.
For Lea C. Requiez, a municipal accountant for more than three decades, there were ominous signs prior to the typhoon’s arrival.
“The night before, there was no wind,” she remembers. “There was also no movement in the trees: not even the leaves were rustling.
Yet no-one expected a disaster of such a scale. “My husband is a fireman. He told us before his assignment for Yolanda to prepare and secure our things.
Lea remembers the reactions of evacuees who had sought shelter in the municipal building.
“The evacuees thought it would be safe for them there,” she says. “But the glass windows shattered and the roof was damaged.
All the banks in nearby Tacloban City were destroyed.
The local market had also sustained extensive damage.“The roof was completely destroyed,” the market vendor Nelson Arguilles, remembers.
At the municipal hall, concrete repairs have since replaced glass, and a new, more resilient roof has been installed.
Attitudes towards disasters, and disaster risk reduction and preparedness measures, have also shifted.
Facing the San Pedro Bay, the small coastal municipality of Tanauan is more commonly known as the skimboarding capital of the Philippines.
Yet, as the enormous devastation wrecked by Super Typhoon Yolanda became known, the municipality alone would account for some 1,376 of the total 6,193 casualties.
Many of those killed would be buried in mass graves. Mayor Pelagio Tecson Jr. asked a priest to bless them, honoring a custom that as a man owes it to himself to live a decent life, so, too, does he deserve a honorable burial.
Tanauan Mayor Pelagio Tecson Jr.
Houses of more than 1,200 families in communities along the coast were also wiped out.
Sheree Ann Y. Bayadog, of Tanauan School of Craftsmanship and Home Industries (TSCHI), a high school and vocational school, shared that they were badly affected when their civic center was damaged by the typhoon. They usually hold their practices, activities and flag ceremonies in the facility because it can accommodate a huge crowd.
“When we use the civic center, we would just do one announcement for all: rather than going to each classroom to inform each group of students about school announcements. It delays the communication process. It is also the usual venue for barangay programs,” Sheree adds.
“Because of our terrifying experience with Typhoon Yolanda, the community is more prepared than ever before. The local government now regularly conducts fire and earthquake drill and seminars regarding disaster preparedness,” she added.
The municipality of Tabontabon experienced widespread destruction during Super Typhoon Yolanda.
Among these, the destruction of the local public market saw devastating impact upon local vendors and patrons who rely heavily on the market to sustain local food supplies.
This would include Evelyn C. Carola, a local fish and vegetable vendor for more than twenty years. This is her story.
“I was here when Yolanda happened.
It destroyed our house, my stall and our entire market. Everything was damaged from our municipal hall, to the barangay hall, our gymnasium: even the evacuation center.
We were informed about the typhoon. The announcement came from the municipal officials: even from our barangay (officials). My family prepared for it, but some of the people didn’t believe it, and underestimated it.
But that was a very strong typhoon. I didn’t expect that it would be so terrifying.
Since our market was washed out, I had to stop from selling. I also didn’t have the money to use as capital.
It was also difficult for me because I am selling fish and after the typhoon, people were scared of eating fish and other seafood products.
Some of my co-vendors still continued selling but they would either sell in front of their houses or wander around the town, just so they could continue their livelihood.
Slowly, we are recovering with the assistance coming from NGOs. Then, RAY DILG repaired our market.
It’s very different now. Before Yolanda, it was made from light materials and wood. Now, more posts were added and they reinforced it using cement and sturdier materials.
Once I have enough money to start my business, I will return to our newly repaired market. It is still challenging because of financial concerns, but I will definitely go back and occupy a stall.
The municipality of Tabango was among those hardest hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda.
Here, Loreta E. Daloso, a local market vendor, remembers her preparations in haste for the coming of the typhoon.
“We were told that that the typhoon was on its way, so I placed all our things inside plastic bags. Our home was damaged, and I was even more surprised when I saw the devastation in our market. No roofing was left, even the steel bars were bent.
“It was like the end of the world. In all my life, it was the worst typhoon I have ever experienced.
We usually experience typhoons here, but Yolanda was really the strongest.
“Two days before landfall, I convened the MDRRMC. Our MDRRM officer informed our barangays to prepare and advised the people to evacuate.
The following day, some local people were preparing, but others were hesitant since the weather was fine.
But the typhoon brought strong winds, and this is what caused the devastation.
For market vendor Loreta, the repair of the local public market sees the return of regular patrons, and a return to daily market routines.
“When our market was repaired, we were comfortable again, in our stalls,” Loreta says. “Selling outside was a struggle and sacrifice especially when it rains.
Nearby, at the local civic center, repairs have improved the wellbeing of the community.
“We’ve begun using the civic center for community activities again,” Luther says. “(The venue) also generates income for the local government from rent of the facility, and from the stalls outside.
Now, we have new offices that are more resilient than before,” he adds.
Despite continued disaster risk reduction and preparation efforts, there remain ongoing lessons and challenges in Tabango, post-Yolanda.
“After Yolanda, the people participate and cooperate with our MDRRMO,” Mayor Corazon says. “This was evident during typhoon Ruby.
“It is still a continuous challenge,” Mayor Corazon added. “We haven’t perfected it yet, because this is not yet part of our norms. That is why we teach our people and include these efforts as part of our community preparations for future calamities,” she says.
The municipality of Santa Fe, located 12km southwest of Tacloban City, was among those hardest-hit town by Super Typhoon Yolanda.
Reports from international aid groups suggested that almost a third (some 30%) of those in the municipality were displaced by the typhoon.
Damage to crops and farmland placed enormous pressure on local families, with many in need of food aid and relief supplies in the typhoon’s immediate aftermath.
Local infrastructure, including the municipality’s civic center, were also destroyed.
“Our civic center was sufficient for us, and we usually use it for all our activities,” Videl N. Apurillo, resident of Santa Fe shares.
The facility sustained significant damage to its roof and roof framing because of the strong winds.
“With the installation of new roof and the repairs done in our civic center, it is once more beneficial to the members of the community,” Videl says.