Rescuers confront lost city

Members of Team Albay and the Office of Civil Defense in Bicol on a humanitarian mission bring a body to shore in Tacloban City, one of the areas worst hit by Supertyphoon “Yolanda.” MARK ALVIC ESPLANA

TACLOBAN CITY—To rescuers from Albay, there was little improvement on how Tacloban City in Leyte looked like six days after Supertyphoon “Yolanda” brought devastation to the capital.

Piles of debris were still scattered almost everywhere, including the grounds of the provincial capitol. The streets were empty, except for a few cleaners.

But as soon as a vehicle passed by, a mass of humanity surged from nowhere, swarming around it with the hope of finding relief items and tapping its windows and body to appeal for help. More than food, they were asking for water.

The stench of human corpses still assaulted from almost every corner, but the typhoon survivors have gotten used to it.

Some children ran around the concrete pavement in innocent play along the seaport, with a dead man but a few steps away.

More bodies floated on the sea, arms and legs open, bloated and rotting.

Amid the devastation, Tacloban residents remained in a state of shock, clueless on how they would bounce back and rebuild their lives.

Retrieval

On Tuesday, members of Team Albay and the Office of Civil Defense in Bicol began collecting the corpses. They were among the first to respond to the search and retrieval operations.

Men wearing three layers of gloves and nose masks boarded two rubber boats and headed for the dead. At the end of the day, they retrieved 20 bodies. More were yet to be fished out.

At the port, the children, maybe 7 to 10 years old, guided the team to where many more bodies are. “We are not afraid,” one of them said.

The playmates counted the bodies that were brought to land. The adults waited and watched.

When the Inquirer took a picture of the youngsters, a man came to plead that his son be photographed, too. “Did you bring any water? Just give me water,” he said.

Residents had to endure almost eight hours of traffic at the middle of Maharlika Highway on Monday to get out of Tacloban City, which was devastated by Supertyphoon “Yolanda.” MARK ALVIC ESPLANA

No waiting relatives

One of those recovered was the body of a security guard from one of the establishments in the city. “At the height of the typhoon, we still saw him helping residents flee,” said a man at the port.

As of Wednesday morning, 78 bodies had been recovered by the team. No anxious relatives waited or cried for them.

At the city center, “We need help” and “Please help us” were written on paper and posted outside of homes and establishments.

The Redemptorist Church was serving as a shelter for evacuees. On its fence, a hanging poster read: “Redemptorist Evacuation Center We Need Help.”

Many residents were still trying to get out of Tacloban. Some had to endure hours of traffic in the middle of Maharlika Highway, while others were waiting for plane flights at the airport.

Sanitation was becoming a problem. Aside from the stench of death, homeless residents, children and adults alike, went about their business on the streets for sheer lack of comfort rooms. They took baths on the beach.

Some saw opportunities, selling cigarettes for P100 a pack.

Security

Passengers were charged P500 each for a tricycle ride from San Juanico Bridge to the city. “We had to charge that amount because we do not have access to gasoline. To get gasoline, we had to get it from toppled vehicles or get it from the people who loot from gasoline stations,” said one driver.

Security was poor as authorities, especially the police, were also affected by Yolanda.

On Wednesday, one policeman was seen with his family going to the airport. He said his family mattered more than his job.

Team Albay members received reports of inmates being set free from the provincial jail so they would not die during the typhoon.

Incidents of looting were reported, including attempts by groups of men to enter banks, even destroying automated teller machines.

It was not easy to approach most people. They carried sharp objects to protect themselves and their families.