Gordon: ‘Yolanda’ victims build new houses in no-build zone

MANILA, Philippines–Nearly seven months since tsunami-like waves spawned by Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) swept away their loved ones and homes, some families in disaster-stricken Tacloban City are back in the danger zone.

Philippine Red Cross chair Richard Gordon disclosed this on Tuesday, citing a recent visit to Tacloban City where he saw   newly rebuilt houses on the coast of Barangay 69 (Anibong district).

Supposedly a no-build zone as designated under the government’s “build back better” program, makeshift houses are back in the section of the city where Yolanda’s deadly storm surge pushed ships to shore, indicating just how powerful the Nov. 8, 2013, monster storm was.

“I have pictures. The roofs on the houses are all new, and they are all beside the sea,” Gordon said in a press briefing at the Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, where he spoke ahead of the disaster risk reduction and management conference to be held in Manila this week.

He could not say how many families have so far moved back to the coastal barangay. “That’s the area where big ships [were swept to shore]. There’s no way to get those ships out anymore. They’re surrounded by new houses,” the former senator said.

“I asked them, ‘Why are you building there?’ [They said,] ‘We will be relocated but that would be hard for us.’ I told them to take the new lots and still keep their old lots [on the coast], but that they should not live there. [I told them,] ‘If you live here, it would be dangerous,’” said Gordon, a longtime advocate of communities that are resilient instead of reactive in the event of disasters.

There has to be “somebody doing that to the public,” reminding them of the risks of living on the hazard zone, Gordon said.

No one to blame

The Red Cross chair said it was “not a criticism” as nobody—not the government or the typhoon victims—was to blame for what happened.

He, however, noted that more could be done in enforcing the no-build zone—part of the national government’s rehabilitation program that aimed to relocate people away from areas deemed too hazardous for habitation.

“All of us want to build back better. If the President says this is a no-build zone, that should be implemented by the building official. There should be a relocation area for the people,” Gordon said.

“If not, it is inevitable that they will come back. You know how resourceful Filipinos are. They won’t wait for [government] to give them new GI sheets. They will find a way on their own,” he said.

Aside from resettlement, livelihood should also be provided by the government.

In Tacloban’s hazard-prone coast, the main source of income is fishing and heads of households could not abandon the area for fear that their boats might be stolen, Gordon said.

“So I’m suggesting that they be moved to an area that is really safe but not too far. Then [government should] buy a truck to ferry the fishermen [from the relocation area to the coast]. And when a storm is coming, the boats will again be transported to the evacuation area,” he said.

Empty houses

A facility such as a marina or pier secured by the police or barangay officials would also be helpful.

“There are many opportunities [to help]. It just takes some getting used to. Once they get used to it, they will even do it on their own. But if you don’t do anything, they will just go back and rebuild their homes [in the danger zone],” Gordon said.

He had seen this in Iloilo City in the aftermath of Typhoon Frank in June 2008, a powerful storm that caused widespread flooding in the city.

“I can say this because I have seen this in areas in Iloilo that were hit by Typhoon Frank. There are resettlement houses that were built there but they’re empty, because they were supposed to be for fishermen’s families who didn’t want to move,” Gordon said.

“This is not a criticism. This is just the reality of the situation,” he said.

Gordon led the Red Cross in its relief, rescue and recovery activities across the Visayas in the wake of the typhoon, largely independent of the government in terms of funding.

4 Ps

Speaking about his assessment of the overall Philippine response to the Yolanda disaster, one of the worst the country has faced by far, Gordon recommended further preparation and better communication at the community level, among others.

“There’s no rocket science here. You can actually prepare for this kind of disaster if you had the resources,” he said.

He cited how relief and early recovery supplies—food, water, GI sheets, rebuilding materials—could already be immediately prepositioned in areas expected to be struck by disasters, given sufficient funding.

“For me, in any case, whether it’s business, disaster or politics, I always have the ‘4 Ps’: predict, plan, prepare and practice the people … So that when the disaster strikes, with the four Ps, you can now, cope, mitigate, [provide] relief and rehabilitate,” Gordon said.

He also suggested informing the public about the magnitude of oncoming storms using previous weather systems as benchmarks.

It could be recalled that the term “storm surge” and its impact, as carried in government bulletins warning about the onslaught of Yolanda, were largely unfamiliar even in an area like Leyte often visited by typhoons.

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