‘Do not underestimate the storm’

MANILA, Philippines—Tacloban City Mayor Alfredo Romualdez saw “in his own eyes” the wrath of one of the strongest typhoons as it battered the province of Leyte early Friday.

Romualdez, in an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990 AM, warned the citizens of provinces where supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) hit next, saying “do not underestimate the storm. It is very strong. It is very powerful.”

“The people here, I can say, are terrified. We have never experienced [a storm] like this and God forbid, this will be the last time,” he said.

The Tacloban mayor described the devastation brought by Yolanda. He said the sliding doors in their city hall and cars on the roads were like “papers” buffeted by the strong winds.

Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Coconut trees were plucked out of the land, establishments were blown away, electric posts were all down, the destructive winds carried debris from damaged houses and facilities, Romualdez detailed.

“Visibility here is almost zero. Right now we are at the city hall to conduct an inspection and we can only see as far as 30 to 40 feet,” he said.

But the mayor said all their people are secured, noting that they have evacuated two days ago as a precautionary measure.

Romualdez advised the people, who live in the provinces in the path of Yolanda, to secure themselves in a concrete building since “wooden houses were easily wrecked by the strong winds.”