In Antique, baby ‘Stormy’ is born amid the fury of ‘Odette’

HOMELESS IN ANINI-Y Residents in coastal villages of Anini-y town in Antique province are left homeless after strong winds accompanying Typhoon “Odette” (international name: Rai) uprooted trees and tore walls and roofs away. —PHOTO COURTESY OF CINDY LOQUIAS

ILOILO CITY—At the height of the onslaught of Typhoon “Odette” (international name: Rai) on Panay Island on Saturday, a healthy baby girl was born in a coastal village in Anini-y town in Antique province.

The baby’s mother was among the residents of the coastal village of San Francisco who sought refuge at the residence of the Loquias family.

“Our neighbor gave birth at 7:11 a.m. on Dec. 18. We were fortunate that a ‘hilot’ (traditional midwife) was nearby and helped us,” Cindy Loquias told the Inquirer in Kiniray-a through Facebook messenger, as mobile calls and text services were still intermittent as of Sunday afternoon.

Loquias said the baby, born to an 18-year-old, would be named Jade Scarlett but was given the nickname “Stormy.” Loquias’ elder brother Joemay and his family and their grandmother also evacuated at their house just before these were destroyed by uprooted trees.

“Almost all 349 houses [in our subvillage] were either destroyed or damaged,” she said.

No casualty

Anini-y, the southernmost town of Antique and Panay Island, was among those hardest hit by the typhoon, which struck Western Visayas early Friday.

There was no reported casualty in the town as of Sunday as villagers especially along the coastline evacuated before the brunt of the typhoon struck.

“The wind was terrifying and it was the first time that I experienced this. People were crying and praying,” Loquias said.

Many residents who lost their homes are still in an elementary school that has been turned into an evacuation center.

Residents have been subsisting on relief packs from the local government.

Bleak Christmas

“Our town mates need help,” Jennifer Loquias-Segunla, Cindy’s sister who is based in Manila, told the Inquirer.

She said that aside from food and immediate needs, her town mates needed help in rebuilding their houses.

Manila-based human rights lawyer Jobert Pahilga, a native of Anini-y, has also appealed for help for his town mates.

“They will be spending Christmas without homes and food,” he said in a Facebook post.

The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Western Visayas reported that 233,019 people remained in evacuation centers were staying in other houses as of 12:05 p.m. of Dec. 18.