Cebuano folk cope with damages

AT 70 years of age, Carolina Misa has experienced several typhoons in her home in barangay Poblacion, San Remigio town in northern Cebu.

Last Friday, Misa said typhoon Yolanda easily qualified as the worst typhoon she had ever experienced.

“Karon pa ko nakasuway og ingon niini. Naghadyong ang hangin. Nagpaka-paka ang gawas. (I’ve never experienced anything like this in my whole life. I could hear the howling of the strong winds. I heard crashes outside),” she said.

She and her grandchildren stayed inside their toilet while Yolanda tore through northern Cebu last Friday morning.

While they survived, Misa’s two story-house was badly damaged with the roof and walls gone.

Misa joined thousands of people in San Remigio town in appealing for food and construction materials from the government.

Along the national road in Tabogon town, northern Cebu, residents carried signs begging for food from motorists.

The way to the north is obstructed by fallen trees scattered everywhere.

Bamboo groves had fallen over while several big trees were uprooted. Electric wires dangled and fallen electric posts lay askew along the road.

Roads became passable as personnel from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and some residents cleared the debris from the middle of the road. Power supply in the area is still down.

With Yolanda’s passage from the country, some residents yesterday began to clean up the mess left by the supertyphoon while others started to rebuild their homes.

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

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

From the towns of Sogod and Tabogon, all the way up to Bogo City, San Remigio, Daanbantayan, and Bantayan Island, the damage left by supertyphoon Yolanda is obvious.

In Tabogon, a 10-wheeler truck and a smaller truck were felled after they were hit by strong winds during the supertyphoon.

Cebu Gov. Davide encouraged the Cebuanos not to be disheartened but to remain strong in the face of this latest disaster.

“Let us be strong. We’ve gone through several calamities in the past. I know we can do this. We’re determined to surmount these adversities. Let’s continue to pray and to remain steadfast in our faith,” Davide said. /Ador Vincent Mayol, Reporter