Text and photos by Mario Ignacio IV,VERA Files
GUIUAN, Eastern Samar- One week after typhoon Yolanda made its first landfall in this coastal town, residents are still in dire need of basic necessities like food, drinking water, fuel to cook their food and shelter.
They are asking for assistance to repair their houses and to buy equipment and tools for their livelihood. Fishing equipment for fishermen and farming tools for farmers.
Homes, hospitals, and schools have all been destroyed. While some could still be used after major repairs, many have been flattened and need to be rebuilt.
Security in the town also needs to be re-established.
Guiuan was the first to be hit by Yolanda early morning of Friday, Nov. 8. A coastal town composed of 60 barangays, most residents are fisherfolk and farmers.
None of Guiuan’s 47, 087 residents was spared by the fury of Yolanda. Ninety-nine died, 16 are missing and 2,432 sustained injuries.
Of the 99 who perished, 18 died inside the Our Lady of Fatima Church at Barangay Pagnamitan, which was being used at that time as an evacuation center. During the typhoon, the walls of the church collapsed, unable to withstand the storm of wind and water. Marlon Marquez lost his wife and three children.
The town’s small and modest airport is functioning despite the damage. Helicopters from the United States are using it to bring in supplies and medical teams. The helicopters also carry residents from isolated barangays to Guiuan airport from where they wait for wait for planes that would take them to either Cebu or Manila.
The airport has become the hub of the area.The day we were there, there were some people from nearby towns to request for assistance from aid workers. They also sought media for coverage of their towns hoping to bring their plight to the attention of national officials and humanitarian groups. “Papaano naman ang ibang bayan ng Samar (How about other towns of Samar?)” asked Boyboy Probo of Balangiga, a town 70 kilometres from the airport.
(VERA Files is put out by veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. Vera is Latin for “true.”)
Saludo ako sa mayor ng Guiuan sa pagpapatupad ng force evacuation, konti lang ang loss of life. Mabuhay kayo dyan sa Guiuan!
I listened to his presentation to Pnoy yesterday on the extent of the devastation and what he had so far done to alleviate the conditions of his constituents. Kahit na tinamaan din soya coz he had lacerations on his foot etc, he still walked around to reached out as there were no vehicles available. Kahanga hanga soya. More power to the Guluan mayor!
Flashback: 1897, Leyte and a strong typhoon
by Raphael Lotilla
Posted on 11/19/2013 11:25 AM | Updated 11/20/2013 8:06 AM
HISTORY LESSONS. All images courtesy of the Emilia A. Lotilla Book Collection
MANILA, Philippines – By now, a number of us would have come across accounts of a
terrible typhoon that swept central Philippines 116 years and barely a month to the day of
Yolanda’s (Haiyan’s) destructive visit.
Until I scanned quickly through the scientific study published by Fr. Jose Algue, S.J. of
the Observatorio de Manila, and entitled “El Baguio de Samar y Leyte, 12-13 de Octubre
1897,” I did not realize the full significance of the storm surge that devastated practically
the same region that Yolanda did.
Fr. Algue and his team from the Observatory, having received in Manila the report from
the Capitan del Puerto de Tacloban only on October 20 of the events of October 12 and
13, 1897, decided to conduct an ocular inspection of the affected areas to verify details
of, among others, “grandes movimientos” in the seas, with extraordinary storm surges
and inundation of coasts, total destruction of towns and even disappearance of islands and
deformation of coasts.
Similarities
The typhoon of October 1897 had similarities with Yolanda in terms of its path: it landed
very near Guiuan in Samar, proceeded to Tanauan, Palo and Tacloban in Leyte, struck
northern Cebu and northern Panay (then the province of Capiz which included the
present-day province of Aklan) and exited just south of Mindoro island. (See general
map)
The similarity does not end there: a storm surge or “ola de huracan” laid low everything
in its path. Perhaps comparable to Yolanda, the height of the storm surge reached more
than 7 meters in some places. In Tanauan, 5 meters; in the Tacloban peninsula where the
airport now stands at around 3.9 meters and on the other side of Tacloban close to San
Juanico Straight, 4.5 meters.
In Vasey (now Basey) Samar, it was estimated at 4.9 meters, and between Marabut and
Lawa-an in what is now Eastern Samar, at 5 meters. Hernani on the eastern Samar coast
experienced a storm surge of 7.3 meters. (See detailed maps of Leyte and Samar areas).
The theory surrounding storm surges is extensively discussed in the work. Of note is the
observation that “los baguios” are accompanied by a considerable rise in sea levels called
“ola del huracan” and traced to the same cause that results in a significant lowering of
barometric readings.
It admits that the name “Ola del huracan” is not entirely accurate in describing the nature
and characteristics of that mountain or mass of water (“montaña o masa de agua”) which
accompanies a storm’s vortex, but it is a term which has been used by Spanish mariners
since ancient times.
An even more extensive discussion of the different meteorological phenomena of the
typhoon as it passed through the archipelago is included in the Algue work. The
barometric readings from various parts of the country are recorded and explained,
accompanied by pictures and sketches of the extent of the devastation.
The number of fatalities are summarized as follows: In Samar—Quinapundan 12,
Hernani 166, Salcedo 44, Mercedes 5, Guiuan 94, Balangiga 27, Vasey 500
(approximate). In Leyte: Tacloban 200 (probably more than less), Visita de San Joaquin
11, and the rest of Leyte 240 (approximate). Approximate total for both islands: 1299.
Just for comparison, at that time, Hernani had 4000 inhabitants and Palo in Leyte had a
total population of around 14,000.
The pictures speak for themselves. The communities and churches of Samar and Leyte,
including Guiuan, Tacloban and Palo were destroyed in 1897.
Hope after devastation
For me, their most eloquent unspoken message for us today is one of hope: these
communities did live again; and they will once more.
In rebuilding and reconstruction, however, it is best to plan with the safety of the
population and critical infrastructure foremost in mind.
The observations of the Capitan del Puerto de Tacloban who almost lost his life in 1897
are worthy: The ola del huracan entered Tacloban at the opening of the bay of San Pedro
and San Pablo, converged with the waters of San Juanico Strait and of the Port.
Aggravating the elevated waters were the surrounding mountains found on all sides
except for the part where the town is located, which is not more than a tongue of lowlying
land. Since this was the only available exit for the waters, understandably they
attained such considerable height and theinundation was the principal cause of the
fatalities.
The October 1897 typhoon was considered, based on the energy of its internal or cyclonic
movement, among the most violent that traversed the Philippine archipelago. As
indicated by barometric readings, it was 5 times greater than the famous typhoon of
October 1882 which tracked the southern part of Luzon. Based on its accompanying
storm surge and the havoc caused, it was considered as entirely extraordinary.
Until Yolanda, that is.
With the growing frequency and easing intensity of extreme events, we need to increase
the resiliency of our people and communities through deliberate planning and action in
the course of rehabilitation and rebuilding.
History in Samar and Leyte provides us lessons. Together, we must act intelligently on
them. – Rappler.com
(The author is a former energy secretary. The accompanying pictures from “El Baguio
de Samar y Leyte, 12-13 de Octubre de 1897” by P. Jose Algue, S.J. were published by
the Observatorio de Manila, Dirigido por los Padres de la Compañia de Jesus. Fototipografia
de J. Marty. Manila: 1898. From the Emilia A. Lotilla Book Collection.)