T’WAS an hour before sunrise in Manila but dark clouds were gathering in Eastern Samar, nearly 600 kilometers away.
At 4:40 a.m. on November 8, 2013, a massive typhoon dubbed Yolanda made landfall in Eastern Samar. International weather experts said Yolanda reached its peak strength just as it struck the islands of Samar and Leyte.
By the time Yolanda left the country, the huge typhoon adversely affected 44 of 81 provinces in the Philippines. An estimated 3 million families suffered under Yolanda’s wrath. Thousands were killed and many more were injured.
It has been three years since Yolanda left, yet the memory of the devastation brought about by the mammoth typhoon is still etched on both the minds of the folk who survived and the people, both Filipinos and foreigners, who dealt with Yolanda’s aftermath.
First signs
ON November 2, 2013, word spread out from weather specialists in the Pacific Ocean that a low pressure area could develop into a super typhoon. The worse fears of the experts were confirmed the next day and a warning was sent to the Philippines, one of the countries on the typhoon’s path.
Civilian rescue and relief groups and their government counterparts began to prepare. It was a routine move, done countless of times before whenever a typhoon approaches the country.
Among the units who joined in the preparation efforts was the 134th Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary Squadron, led by physician Rodrigo Ong.
For the next several days, organizations like Ong’s checked their equipment, gear and supplies in anticipation of Yolanda’s arrival.
On November 7 the public had been informed of the coming typhoon.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) warned local officials to activate their emergency protocols and systems. Officials felt confident they were ready for Yolanda. They stockpiled and prepositioned equipment, medical supplies and relief goods in areas expected to be hit by the coming typhoon. The military, the police and other emergency services were placed on alert with then-Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin and then-Interior Secretary Manuel A. Roxas arriving in Tacloban City to oversee the government’s efforts.
Ground Zero
THEN-President Benigno S. Aquino III warned the public of the coming storm.
“All of our Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils [DRRMCs]—from the national, regional and down to the municipal and city levels—are also making their own preparations,” he added. “The National DRRMC is coordinating with affected regions, municipalities and cities to prepare for the storm, for example, by providing as much information as possible so that we can adequately prepare for Yolanda.”
Aquino said the military’s three C-130’s, 32 planes and helicopters are on standby.
“Relief goods have been prepositioned in the areas we expect to be affected,” the president said. “Rest assured that help will arrive as soon as the storm passes.”
Unfortunately, the plans and preparations proved puny in the face of Yolanda’s might.
“Prepositioned goods and equipment were washed away in Region 8,” said the government’s official Yolanda timeline. “Homes and vital infrastructure, including vital telecommunications, were destroyed.”
And that had an impact on the preparations of those who were about to deploy as first responders.
“About a week before Yolanda was set to arrive, the team was already getting ready,” said Maximo del Ponso Jr., Ong’s colleague. “We were monitoring the weather reports. We knew it was a strong typhoon. But Yolanda turned out to be stronger than we expected,” del Ponso said. “So our preparations—medicines, food, water and equipment—weren’t really enough.”
He said they had to bring whatever what was available in a rush to Ground Zero: Samar and Leyte.
To Tacloban
Del Ponso recalled that when they learned Yolanda made landfall at Guiuan and Hernani on November 8, they immediately bought tickets from Philippine Airlines for a flight to Cebu.
“Nobody was flying to Tacloban. We went to Cebu on the first flight available and that was 8 p.m.”
They arrived in Cebu at around 11 in the evening. “We were hoping that a Philippine Coast Guard vessel could ferry us to Tacloban or to Ormoc or the Philippine Air Force [PAF] can send us by aircraft,” del Ponso said. “But no aircraft or ship could reach Leyte because the storm was still too strong.”
Jesse Estrella, who was with del Ponso’s group, recalled that the earliest time a plane can safely fly to Tacloban was at 2 o’clock in the morning of November 9.
However, policemen were given priority on board the first flight, according to del Ponso.
Lost contact
THE police deployment was needed to secure the airport and reinforce the Tacloban City policy force that, along with Roxas and Gazmin, had lost contact with government authorities. The next available flight to Tacloban was at 8 a.m.
“Rescue and medical personnel were supposed to take that flight. But it was commandeered by certain government officials,” del Ponso said. “I understand why they did that. They need to assess the situation.”
Three hours later, the third C-130 left Cebu, he recalled.
“But we decided to give our slot to the team from the World Food Programwho was bringing the first bulk food supplies to Tacloban,” del Ponso said. “They needed the space. The earlier they can get there, the earlier they can assess the situation and determine what kind of equipment, supplies and support personnel were needed.”
Apocalypse now
AN hour later, another PAF C130 arrived from Manila. This aircraft brought del Ponso’s team to Tacloban. His team was among the first civilian-volunteer units to arrive in the city that day.
“When we arrived in Tacloban, it was like a scene from a zombie apocalypse,” del Ponso said. “The medical tent of Department of Health was overflowing with injured people. Just outside the airport fence, people were trying to get inside.”
The only semblance of organized assistance was to be found at the airport. Outside, the injured were asking for help.
“The landing strip still had dead bodies on it,” he recalled. “The runway had to be cleared of debris and corpses before the C-130s were allowed to land.”
Once the runway was partially cleared, the PAF’s three C-130s came one after another.
According to del Ponso, Capt. Roy Trinidad of the Naval Special Operations Group met him and members of his group at the tarmac.
“Capt. Trinidad was the highest ranking officer present at Tacloban airport at that time,” Estrella said. “He instructed us to set up our camp right beside his makeshift operations center.”
‘Papa’s here’
AS civilian volunteers, like del Ponso’s team, worked with the military to treat the injured, a young police officer on the other side of Leyte recalled the same day. He was in Palompon.
“It was the only time I regretted being a cop,” he told the BusinessMirror. “My mind was not on what I was doing. I was disheartened. There I was bringing other people to safety while I don’t even know what happened to my own family.”
The policeman who asked not to be named because he is still in active service said his wife and 2-year-old daughter were at their home in Palo, Leyte, which was just at the outskirts of Tacloban City, when Yolanda hit.
“The day after the storm, our police chief allowed all policemen to check on their families who were living in other towns and villages,” he said. “I bought gas for my motorcycle. It cost me P1,000 to buy 5 liters of gasoline. “
“I went home to Palo,” the policeman said. “Our house was gone. I had no idea where my wife and daughter were. I came across one of my neighbors. I asked him if he knew where my wife was. He looked at me. His eyes had that dazed look. It was as if he didn’t know what I was talking about.”
“When he didn’t answer I feared the worse,” he added. “I wanted to knock some sense into him to get a straight answer. Fortunately, his wife showed up. My wife and kids were safe, she told me.”
With the woman’s help, the cop found his family.
“I hugged my daughter,” he said. “I told her ‘Papa is here. You’re safe now.’ Then I reluctantly let go,” he told the BusinessMirror. “I kissed my wife and gave her money, food and water. Then I returned to Palompon.” To be continued