‘Yolanda’ survivor homeless anew after ‘Ursula’

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Philippines — Edwin de Paz is still in shock.

He cannot believe that he lost his house again in just a span of six years.

His house was among the 30 houses in Barangay 35, a coastal village in Pampango District, Tacloban City, Leyte, that were swept by a storm surge during the onslaught of Typhoon “Ursula” (international name: Phanfone) on Christmas Eve.

Their houses — which were made of light materials — were no match to the storm surge, which was about 4 meters high.

“We have survived, but this is the second time that we have experienced storm surge. The first was when we were hit by [Supertyphoon] ‘Yolanda.’ In both cases, our house was washed out,” said De Paz, 49, and a father of four.

Just like six years ago during Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), he also lost all their belongings, including his tools that he used in his work as a carpenter.

Housing beneficiary

De Paz said that he was among Yolanda survivors awarded housing units but like many beneficiaries, he still went back to his old house because the resettlement sites were too far from where he worked.

But he said the housing units also suffered damage during Ursula as many no longer had roofs.

De Paz recalled that he and his family were inside the house in Barangay 35 to prepare for the annual noche buena when Ursula slammed their village.

He said they decided to evacuate when the water from Cancabato Bay, located about 200 meters from their house, started to rise.

“It was already pitch black with strong winds and heavy rains pounding on us and the water was already rising. But we managed to escape while our house was being swallowed by the water,” De Paz said.

Lost livelihood

In the nearby Barangay 31, 38-year-old Linda, who declined to give her last name, was sadder about losing their pump boat than losing their house which was flattened by Ursula.

“That’s our only source of income. My husband used it to catch fish,” she said. Her house was also flattened by Ursula’s wrath.

More than 500 families (1,500 persons) in Tacloban were evacuated to different evacuation centers at the height of Ursula.

In Biliran province, Gov. Rogelio Espina said the provincial disaster risk reduction management office had declared a state of calamity which would later be adopted by the provincial board during a special session on Friday.

According to Espina, more than 13,000 houses, as well as infrastructure and crops, were either destroyed or damaged by the typhoon.

Worst hit was Caibiran town, said its mayor, Rhodessa Delante-Revita.

Revita said that in Barangay Victory alone, a coastal village, practically all the houses were destroyed by the storm surge.

“All of the town’s 17 barangays sustained damage due to Ursula. Most affected was Barangay Victory. Ninety percent of our crops were destroyed while our roads and bridges were damaged,” she said in an interview over her mobile phone.The town has been under a state of calamity since Christmas Day, Revita said.

In Basey town, Samar, almost all the business establishments at the commercial center in Barangay Baybay were damaged, said its information officer Mercy Caboboy.

State of calamity

In Cebu, the northern town of Daanbantayan has been placed under a state of calamity after more than 60 percent of its population were affected by the onslaught of Ursula.

The declaration was contained in a resolution passed by the municipal council during a special session on Thursday to enable the municipal government to tap its calamity funds and help the typhoon victims.

Mayor Sun Shimura told the Inquirer that at least 19,000 families or 50,000 individuals were displaced by the typhoon when it released its wrath on Christmas Eve.

“Most of these residents are on Carnaza and Malapascua islands where we have difficulty in terms of communication. They badly needed food,” he said.

Daanbantayan is a first-class municipality located 123 kilometers north of Cebu City, with a population of more than 80,000.

Part of its territory are six islands and islets that are known diving sites and tourists destinations. These include Carnaza and Malapascua islands.

During Ursula’s onslaught, the town was placed under storm Signal No. 3.

During the special session, the council approved the released of P3.2 million in calamity fund.

Shimura said they already asked the Department of Social Welfare and Development to deliver 17,000 food packs to the town. Priority recipients were the residents of Malapascua and Carnaza.

Food, housing materials

“We need food. Aside from food, our constituents also need housing materials. Although it is not like the effect of Yolanda, still some houses were ruined like their roofs were ripped because of the strong wind,” Shimura said.

Even the cultural center and the disaster risk office of the town were not spared from Ursula, he said.

The mayor hoped that the national and provincial governments will provide assistance to the displaced families.