One year over a decade after the inundation that submerged and washed away homes, properties, livelihood and people. The memory of that storm surge brought by super typhoon yolanda remains fresh in the minds of the people. How could such a devastation that ruined places to ground zero be forgotten by the people, chiefly those who suffered losses that appeared beyond repair.
Localities along the shoreline that were hit by huge waves had lost count of their dead as they grappled to survive from the relief goods given by local and international donors, including religious organizations and the diocesan social action centers of the Roman Catholic Church. There were Catholic International organizations that coordinated with the dioceses for the relief and rehabilitation of the devastated communities.
In the aftermath of that disaster, local governments that were spared from the path of the super typhoon as well as the national government, pooled their calamity funds in order to help the affected people and communities. The need for food and clean potable drinking water was the immediate concern of response teams that was confronted with the challenge of inaccessible roads as felled trees blocked many parts of the highway. Food supplies coming from Luzon were stranded in the ferry terminals going into the eastern visayas region. The long queues of trucks loaded with food and medicine was disheartening as the affected people waited for help.
Relocation sites were the next priority among donors while temporary shelters, mostly tents and shanties of light materials are being built. The need for construction materials and tools was another problem as local hardware stores were also devastated. Another problem that beset the people was the lack of transportation and the difficulty of procuring fuel for vehicles. In many places, the prices of gasoline skyrocketed as the commodity had to be rationed in order to serve more consumers.
Food became scarce as the nearest markets were also ruined. In some places, people were forced to loot commercial establishments that have stocks for basic needs. The looting went uncontrolled as authorities were busy responding to the urgent needs of the affected population. Aside from food and other basic needs, the need to clear roads from debris and dead bodies were likewise a need that must be addressed. Responders from other places and regions had to bring not just food but heavy equipment as well that could be used in transporting not just food for the living but dead corpse to be buried in mass graves.
Eleven years after the devastation, government had failed to deliver the promised housing units to the needy families that whose houses were washed and ruined beyond repair. The housing units were attended by irregularities, mostly with substandard materials and workmanship. But the housing units were forced to be distributed anyway in order to cover the anomalies that were too obvious to disregard. Many concerned citizens had filed formal complaints against the contractors and government officials involved but nothing has resulted. All irregularities are now submerged in deep murky waters worse than the storm surge brought by yolanda’s that is now a lifetime water reminder.
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