Borongan bounces back: We can’t just rely on gov’t

By: Marlon Ramos - 10 years ago

GOING HOME Although the streets are still flooded, evacuees head for home in Borongan City, Eastern Samar, after Tropical Storm “Ruby” lashed the province. While tens of thousands return to their residences in the Visayas, many in areas like Batangas, Laguna and Cavite provinces and Metro Manila seek shelter in evacuation centers as Ruby crawls toward the West Philippine Sea. RAFFY LERMA

BORONGAN, Eastern Samar— Aida Capoto woke up early on Monday to open her family’s meat shop in the downtown area here.

Shortly before sunrise, the 45-year-old mother of three and her husband were already busy slicing up the fresh pork they had obtained from a local hog farm.

Capoto’s stall was among the commercial establishments damaged by the raging waters from Loom River, which inundated parts of the city when Tropical Storm “Ruby” (international name: Hagupit) made landfall on Saturday night.

“We have to do this because we cannot just rely on the assistance from the government. We have to survive on our own,” Capoto told the Inquirer as she placed two kilos of liempo in a plastic bag.

A few meters away, two female employees of a pawnshop were clearing its floors of the thick mud. They also took out the flood-soaked receipts and other documents to dry under the sun.

A branch of a well-known drugstore beside Borongan Cathedral also opened. People were seen buying food from variety stores nearby.

Signs of normalcy

Less than 48 hours after Ruby battered the coastal towns in the northern part of this province, these signs of normalcy could be seen as residents of this capital city have started to return to their normal lives.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, who flew here a day before the typhoon made its first landfall on Saturday night, said the worst was over for Eastern Samar, an impoverished province still reeling from the devastation caused by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) a year ago.

“Certainly, the [worst is over] from Ruby’s immediate impact. The challenge now is to attend to the needs of those staying in evacuation centers,” Roxas said at the meeting of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) at the provincial capitol.

Preparedness plan

As of 9 a.m. Monday, PDRRMC head Levi Nicart said four people were confirmed dead, 22 others were hurt and one was reported missing when the typhoon unleashed powerful winds and dumped heavy rains that lasted for about eight hours.

The number of casualties from the 18th weather disturbance to hit the country this year was small compared to the more than 6,000 fatalities when Yolanda wrought havoc in the Visayas in November last year.

HORSING AROUND AFTER STORM Children play and sit on fallen coconut trees along the highway in Sulat town, Eastern Samar province, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm “Ruby.” RAFFY LERMA

Roxas was satisfied with the disaster preparedness plan drawn up by local governments, pointing out the importance of early preparations in minimizing the adverse effects of calamities.

Although the reports were just initial, Roxas said the damage to life and property was less than what people had feared.

“I would like to thank the people for their cooperation and the local officials for enforcing the mandatory evacuation. This proves that we can avoid the loss of lives during calamities with early preparations,” Roxas said.

“This should be the new normal, the new standard for disaster preparedness,” he added.

In its latest reports, PDRRMC said 25,355 families composed of 141,280 people were affected by the typhoon in Eastern Samar. A total of 14,990 families, or 76,594 people, were staying in 233 evacuation centers in the country.

At the PDRRMC meeting, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman said 45,000 food packs were en route to Borongan from Surigao City via a roll-on, roll-off vessel.

Soliman said 3,000 food packs were delivered on Monday and 50,000 more would be flown in by a C-130 military plane from Cebu. She said the World Food Program had committed 300 tons of rice for typhoon-ravaged areas. Hygiene kits and tents would also be distributed to families in temporary shelters.

No power in Samar, Leyte, Bohol

Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla said power had yet to be restored in the provinces of Samar, Bohol and Leyte.

Although the typhoon did not damage the facilities of National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), Petilla said it would take some time for the government to bring back power because many electric posts were toppled.

“We don’t have problems regarding power supply. But NGCP does not want to open the main line until the electric co-ops are able to repair the distribution lines,” Petilla said. “Otherwise power may just trip if the distribution lines are not ready.”

“So far so good. While we express our condolences to the family of those who died, the low number of casualties was really worth noting,” Roxas said.