Beyond the Flash Flood and the Storm

November 8, 2013, just 3 days after the 22nd Anniversary of the Ormoc City Flash flood on November 5, 1991, Ormoc and the islands in Central Philippines were devastated by the super typhoon named Haiyan (Yolanda).

22 years ago.

I was 4 years old then when the flash flood brought about by Tropical Storm Uring ravaged Ormoc City with almost 5,000 recorded deaths, 3,000 missing persons, and 14,000 destroyed houses. Our small nipa house was among them. In fact, my father and older brother, while saving some things in our house, were swept away by the flood. My mother, older sisters, and me were safe in our neighbor's house and we were fervently praying for the safety of my father and brother.

Miraculously, God saved them by providing trees and flagpoles for them to hold on to and He gave them strength to swim through the flood.

November 8, 2013.

We have seen in the news that the coming storm will be the strongest to make landfall this year and my family prepared for it. Yet, little did we know that the destruction of the storm were so huge that it prompted help from the international communities.

In Ormoc, the wind started to blow at around 5am. By the time our family finished our morning worship at around 6am, the wind (which I named the first wave) became increasingly forceful and fierce. It was the start of the storm.

At around 8:30am, the eye of the storm passed by and there was stillness all around. We went out of our house and we immediately saw the damage around us. But the stillness was short-lived.

After five to ten minutes, the wind (the second wave) started to blow again on the opposite side. We took refuge in our house and we offered a prayer for our safety and the people affected by the storm. Yes, the wind was so strong, wild, and fierce! When I looked outside our window, I saw how the roofing materials were crumpled and blown by the wind. The debris of most houses and the branches of the trees were also flying in the air. Because of the powerful wind and the accompanying rain, it was white all around.

The storm slowly abated at around 2pm and in my calculation, the storm devastated Ormoc for six to eight hours. We had the chance to survey our surroundings at around 3pm.

All around us was destruction! It was unimaginable!





I saw the devastation in its full scale when we surveyed the city one day after the storm.






I then created a status update that was posted on my Facebook wall on November 14, 2013.

"A Call for Help

Ormoc City is severely damaged due to the super typhoon. Houses collapsed, schools and government buildings were damaged, roofs, trees, and vegetations were ripped. To us, locals, it is a heart-wrenching scenario. As of today, people are trying to move on, slowly. It will take months to recover, to have electricity and water in place. If you want to help the people here, the immediate needs are food, water, building/house materials like plywood, lumber, roof, "trapal"/tents and others.