November 19, 2013, almost two weeks after Typhoon Haiyan's onslaught, we have finally returned to Cebu. We were in Leyte to spend our month-long semestral break. Our return was not an easy process; we were supposed to leave two days before, but every port was filled with thousands or hundreds of stranded people wanting to embark for Cebu. In Ormoc City port alone, news reached us that around 4,000 people were lining up for boat tickets; some have been lining up for days. We also tried Palompon port and we lined up among many people from 4 in the morning until 8. It turned out that our efforts of waiting were worthless since the ticketing officer did not arrive. Under those circumstances, we had no choice but to stay indefinitely. However, after two days, fate granted us our wish and we were lucky enough to get boat tickets. It was not our typical Ormoc-Cebu route, but a different one. We left from Pingag port at 7 am in the morning, and around noon, the ship docked on Danao City - which is some 37 kilometers north of Cebu City. From Danao, we rode a jeep to Cebu City and finally arrived in the afternoon of that day.
It was indeed an exhausting experience. But thank God we were already on a land with electricity and internet; but those weren't the only things I was anticipating for on our return. For how many days, we were blind about the happenings on our larger environment, our only source of news was the radio. From what I have heard, the intensity of the damage was really huge, and casualties have reached up to almost ten thousand. I couldn't be contented by just hearing the news and just visualizing everything they describe of the aftermath. As I checked on the internet, I have learned about the real gravity of the situation; it was far more worse than what i have imagined. The images I have seen were entirely disheartening. I couldn't believe what had happened to Tacloban City - an entire city wiped out with almost nothing left. That explained why so many survivors were fleeing to Cebu and Manila; the city's condition was unlivable. I have also seen a before and after satellite photo of Tacloban city; the changes that Haiyan induced were indeed drastic.
The Philippines has really caught a lot of attention from the media and the international community because of this disaster. I couldn't believe big news agencies from different nations were in our soil and that we were being broadcast on world news. Aside from that, the support from the international community was truly overwhelming. A lot of foreign volunteers, military, and medical personnel have decided to help in recovery operations, medical treatment, and relief operations for the millions of victims of the typhoon.
There are still a lot of things that I would want to write about regarding the impact of the typhoon; however I prefer to post it on my another blogpost - which would be the last. It would be about my final personal insights on this catastrophic event.
It was indeed an exhausting experience. But thank God we were already on a land with electricity and internet; but those weren't the only things I was anticipating for on our return. For how many days, we were blind about the happenings on our larger environment, our only source of news was the radio. From what I have heard, the intensity of the damage was really huge, and casualties have reached up to almost ten thousand. I couldn't be contented by just hearing the news and just visualizing everything they describe of the aftermath. As I checked on the internet, I have learned about the real gravity of the situation; it was far more worse than what i have imagined. The images I have seen were entirely disheartening. I couldn't believe what had happened to Tacloban City - an entire city wiped out with almost nothing left. That explained why so many survivors were fleeing to Cebu and Manila; the city's condition was unlivable. I have also seen a before and after satellite photo of Tacloban city; the changes that Haiyan induced were indeed drastic.
The Philippines has really caught a lot of attention from the media and the international community because of this disaster. I couldn't believe big news agencies from different nations were in our soil and that we were being broadcast on world news. Aside from that, the support from the international community was truly overwhelming. A lot of foreign volunteers, military, and medical personnel have decided to help in recovery operations, medical treatment, and relief operations for the millions of victims of the typhoon.
There are still a lot of things that I would want to write about regarding the impact of the typhoon; however I prefer to post it on my another blogpost - which would be the last. It would be about my final personal insights on this catastrophic event.
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