Hotel turned shelter for folk fleeing storm
NO MATCH: These two cargo trucks are unable to withstand the fury of Typhoon “Odette” (international name: Rai), ending up on their sides along the highway in Surigao, as strong winds battered the city on Dec. 16. —EDWIN M. MASCARIÑAS
SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte, Philippines — In the afternoon of Dec. 16, when Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) was expected to unleash her wrath over the Surigao-Siargao-Dinagat corridor, a wedding reception was being prepared at the posh Gateway Hotel here.
The party was to be held in one of its reception halls, and the guests were to be entertained by a live band.
Some of the guests, clad in formal dresses, skipped the church ceremony and went ahead to the reception venue so there would be people to welcome the newlywed couple.
Then Odette came at around 2:30 p.m., initially uprooting trees that fell on vehicles and houses nearby.
As her winds picked up strength and downpour became heavy, people rushed to the hotel to take shelter; those in vehicles took the turn toward its parking area then ran inside the building.
The couple never made it to their wedding reception. The reception itself abruptly came to a halt as early guests sheltered inside the hotel.
At its worst
Seeing the looming fury, a number of hotel staff abandoned their work to go home and secure their families.
By past 3 p.m., Odette began to show her worst violence, crushing the thick glass wall at the hotel entrance, the shards thrown into the lobby, sending people running into the dining area.
The battering went on for about two hours. To avoid being hit by glass shards from broken windows, people squatted on the floor, and had tables turned on their sides and formed as shields. Odette’s howling winds come with an eerie whistling sound and brought various pieces of debris into the hotel lobby.
From outside, one could hear the sounds of destruction like metal crumbling to the ground and roofing sheets being ripped by the gusts of wind.
Amid the tempest, more people streamed into the hotel, which opened its doors to those who sought refuge. Most of them had cuts on their arms and feet from nails and broken glass as they crawled from across the street to avoid being blown away by the wind.
Many were left shocked at how close they were to danger, keeping silent throughout the ordeal. Their tension eased up at around 6 p.m. when the rain and wind had weakened.
People from Barangay Luna, the hotel’s neighborhood, sought shelter as their homes were destroyed and water rose in the river.
About 100 people spent the night there, using table covers as blankets. The hotel management used its generator set to provide power to make all its guests comfortable.
