Picking ourselves up

President Benigno Aquino III’s statement on TV on Thursday to address the coming supertyphoon “Yolanda” underscored the gravity of the situation confronting the Visayas and parts of Mindanao as it made landfall at 10 a.m. yesterday.

The howling winds and gusty rain showers made sure everyone stayed indoors for most of the day. Preparations made by Cebuanos for the duration of Yolanda’s presence served us well as stores, schools and companies closed early and hunkered down.

Though the brunt of the typhoon was on Samar and Leyte, north Cebu was badly battered by Yolanda’s winds and rains, blasting trees, tearing through roofs and otherwise making life a rainy purgatory for everyone in its path.

Everything had been done to cushion the impact of Yolanda’s wrath. Families in danger zones were evacuated, including those living near rivers, seas and landslide-prone areas.

Emergency teams were on standby since Wednesday afternoon and offices let their staff go home early.

The Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) shut down its 69KV line in the morning as a safety measure at the onset of the typhoon’s strongest assault in Cebu City.

When the skies clear and the floodwaters recede, the task of restoring water, power and communication lines and rebuilding homes and public structures assumes paramount importance.

In a calamity, the best of Cebuano community spirit shines.

Typhoon Ruping in 1990 was proof of that.

Yolanda’s impact yesterday was a far cry from the devastation of the 1990 supertyphoon.

We hope Cebu officials set aside their political differences and work with the private sector and the communities in picking ourselves up after being knocked down by Yolanda.

Former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña and several officials recalled that period of rising beyond self. (Ruping was the calamity that introduced Gwen Garcia, who was then a mayor’s daughter-in-law, as the voice of Ormoc beseeching help from Cebu. Osmeña gallantaly responded at the time.)

It took less than a year for Cebu City and the rest of the province to get back on its feet, and reclaim its place as the “Ceboom” story of economic growth.

That courage and go-to spirit flashed again recently in the #Bangon SugBohol movement, extending help again beyond self-interest.

One earthquake and one supertyphoon isn’t enough to sink the island or bring its people to despair.

Both are opportunities that should force the best of Cebu to come out.