What a contrast of normal.
In a completely selfish and self centred way I was happy that since Typhoon Yolanda our life in Cebu is back to normal ... we have power and the internet connected.
While less than 100 kilometres away there is total destruction - houses have been flattened, families ripped apart, children left are orphans, husbands with no wives, no food, no water - and I'm happy that I have an internet connection!! People now surviving in a dark, rudimentary shelter, their lives ripped apart by one of the biggest and most ferious typhoons to have made land fall.
To put it in some perspective especially for people in the United States, Haiyan was about 3 times larger, and 3 times more damaging than the East Coast US “Sandy”. Also, Haiyan was much larger than the well known Gulf of Mexico Hurricane, Katrina.
Hitting the city of Tacloban with full force there was total devastation.
Many people lived close to the sea and many lived in shacks or shanties. They had no way of defending themselves against 320 kph winds or 3 meter waves of water. Two weeks later ... refugees are living in makeshift camps in Cebu and rescuers are just making it to remote islands.
Refief is limited and government credibility is low. There are concerns that relief money may end up in government officials pockets. They are already in the midst of the "pork barrel" scam where billions of pesos earmarked for social projects found their way into gaping pockets of corruption ... so with millions of dollars of flowing in for relief, why not now?
It is really sad when, at times like this, people can be suspected of "stealing" money from their own destitute victims. Children have been left orphans ... and spend their days abandoned and lonely.
So life after a super typhoon is very different depending on your circumstances ... there is no doubt that the poor are always the major victims of any major disaster.
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