Cebu children hold posters: We need food and water

SAN REMIGIO, Cebu—At age 70, Carolina Misa had been through a number of typhoons in the past.

But nothing compared to the wrath of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”

“Yolanda was the strongest typhoon I’d ever experienced. This was the first time I experienced this. The wind was howling,” said Misa, a resident of Barangay (village) Poblacion here.

She and her grandchildren stayed inside the toilet as Yolanda battered their two-story house, tearing off the roof and collapsing the walls.

“Now, we have nothing,” said the woman encamped temporarily with other typhoon victims at the municipal hall.

Misa, along with thousands of people made homeless, has been seeking help—food and construction materials.

Along the national road in Tabogon town, north Cebu province, residents appealed for help from motorists.

Children were holding posters: “We need food and water,” “Please help.”  Others were holding tin cans and were begging for money.

While traveling to the northern district, fallen trees and electric posts littered the road.

Most affected were Bogo City and the towns of Sogod, Tabogon, San Remigio and Daanbantayan, as well as Sta. Fe, Madridejos and Bantayan towns on Bantayan Island.

In one area, a man had to use a bamboo to raise an electric wire that hung in the middle of the road so vehicles could pass.

Power supply in northern Cebu was still down.

Some residents on Saturday started to clean up the mess, while others tried to reconstruct their homes.

People dried their mattresses under the sun while some began to wash their clothes.

Before sunset, a rainbow was seen in the northern tip of Cebu where the eye of the typhoon passed.

Gov. Hilario Davide III said financial assistance for affected families was ready but he had yet to determine the amount after assessing the damage.

“We’ll concentrate on the northern part of Cebu that was badly damaged by the supertyphoon,” he said.

He encouraged Cebuanos not to be disheartened but to rise up.

“Let us be strong. We’ve gone through several calamities in the past. I know we can do this. We’re determined to surpass these adversities. Let’s continue to pray,”Davide said.

Marivet Sumagang, 33, was grateful to the Lord even if her house no longer had a roof.

Sumagang, her mother, her husband and their two children hid under the bed during the onslaught of Yolanda.

“I was so scared. The winds were strong. I am thankful to God for giving us a miracle. We are still alive.  I know God continues to watch over us amid the supertyphoon,” she said.