Tacloban City, Leyte on November 10, 2013

[jadegil6]

It has been three months since Typhoon Yolanda flattened towns and cities in the Visayas, and bodies continue to be found in Tacloban City, the area most affected by the most devastating typhoon to ever make landfall. The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has left behind body bags and face masks at barangay halls in Yolanda-affected areas for all of the bodies found and reported by residents. They expect an increase in the death toll as the debris left behind by the disaster in the affected areas continues to be cleared. As of February 1, 2014, the death toll in Tacloban had exceeded 2,500.
In its latest update, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said as of January 29, the death toll from Yolanda has reached 6,201, while 28,626 were injured with 1,785 others still missing.
Yolanda affected 3,424,593 families or 16,078,181 people in 12,095 villages in 44 provinces, displacing 890,895 families or 4,095,280 people. Of these, 20,924 families or 101,527 people were staying in 381 evacuation centers.
Meanwhile, a mass grave is still ongoing in Barangay Suhi in Tacloban City, the report said, noting that around 1,000 bodies have been buried there. Unable to bear the stench and sight of unclaimed cadavers in the streets, and fearful of possible health hazards, local officials have begun burying them in mass graves, although that is in violation of the World Health Organizations (WHO) guidelines.

[jadegil6]

The United Nations warned on Saturday that millions of survivors of the Philippines' deadliest typhoon were still without adequate shelter 100 days after the disaster. The report states that the need for durable shelter for millions of people whose homes were damaged or destroyed is critical.
Yolanda tore across the central islands on November 8 last year, killing 6,200 people and leaving nearly 2,000 others missing. It also destroyed or severely damaged 1.1 million houses, leaving more than four million people homeless.
Millions of jobs were also destroyed or impaired after Yolanda tore down or damaged 33 million coconut trees, flooded fields with salt water, and swept away or wrecked 30,000 fishing vessels. Many of the devastated areas rely on subsistence fishing and farming and are on the path of most of the 20 or so typhoons and storms that strike the Asian country each year. The UN has raised more than $300 million for the humanitarian effort this year that was expected to cost $788 million.
So far, the local government in Tacloban City, which was one of the hardest hit cities, has received pledges from different sponsors that can be used to pay for the construction of around 8,000 homes. It will take two to three years to finish 8,000 homes, and that means many people will remain living in tents and temporary shelters for a very long time. Many other cities have no pledges or ways in which to supply homes to displaced citizens.

[cheryz]

i feel sad but thats the fact sir, many survivor people doesnt have there homes and some of them are only suffering in tents while others are finding some homes with there other relatives to have shelter. and most of the people in tacloban are jobless. i would suggest more people will do help to work for the housing so that it will help more faster to make the houses.

[jadegil6]

Yes, it is a great tragedy. I read that the relief food supplies will stop in April, and that is not that far from now. I don't have any friends in Tacloban, so I only know what happens there through news reports. I do have friends in western side of Leyte, and they tell me about things there. One got relief supplies a week ago Sunday. She got 25 kilos of NFA rice,20 sachet of 3 in 1 coffee, 24 packs of noodles, 12 cans of sardines, and 12 cans of corn beef. That is for a family of 3. She had to stand in line, and the wait time was over 6 hours to get the stuff, but she is happy she got it.

[cheryz]

its great to know about that sir, how about if they dont have a job, after the food supplies last where they gonna get some food? i will pray for them to get a jobs. i heard some of people in tacloban abandon there homes and they transfer to other cities that far from sea.

[jadegil6]

I know that many have left the Tacloban area. Who can blame them? I think it would be very difficult to stay there for most people, but having said that, I know that many will have no choice. They have nowhere else to go, or money with which to relocate, so they have to stay. I don't know if the relief supplies are the same around Tacloban as they are on the other side of the Leyte province where my friends live. They may get more in Tacloban since it was the center of attention.
I have heard that people in northern Mindanao who got flooded during the storms that hit in that 2 week period have received nothing in the way of relief. It makes a hard life even harder.

[angel]

i hate politician many are helping but you cant see the progress of their project for the people which they help little by little! why dont let the people do there own houses give and provide them money to spend. why they didnt do that?

[jadegil6]

There are so many people to help, and not enough to provide houses for all of those who lost their homes. It will take many years for those people to recover from Yolanda, if they ever do.

[cheryz]

1 month after, progress in Tacloban starts
by Manila Bulletin




In this photo taken on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013, a typhoon survivor walks among debris as others sit on the roof of a damaged home, in Tacloban, central Philippines. One month since Typhoon Haiyan, signs of progress in this shattered Philippine city are mixed with reminders of the scale of the disaster and the challenges ahead: Bodies are still being uncovered from beneath the debris. Tens of thousands are living amid the ruins of their former lives, underneath shelters made from scavenged materials and handouts. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013, a typhoon survivor walks among debris as others sit on the roof of a damaged home, in Tacloban, central Philippines. One month since Typhoon Haiyan, signs of progress in this shattered Philippine city are mixed with reminders of the scale of the disaster and the challenges ahead: Bodies are still being uncovered from beneath the debris. Tens of thousands are living amid the ruins of their former lives, underneath shelters made from scavenged materials and handouts. (AP Photo)

TACLOBAN, Philippines (AP) — The government is back at work, and markets are laden with fruits, pork, fish and bread. Shredded trees are sprouting new leaves. Above all, the sounds of a city getting back on its feet fill the air: the roar of trucks hauling debris, the scrape of shovel along pavement, the ping of hammer on nails.

One month since Typhoon Haiyan, signs of progress in this shattered Philippine city are mixed with reminders of the scale of the disaster and the challenges ahead: Bodies are still being uncovered from beneath the debris. Tens of thousands are living amid the ruins of their former lives, underneath shelters made from scavenged materials and handouts.

City administrator Tecson Lim says a sense of “normality” has returned and has begun talking of a silver lining: “The opportunity to transform our city into a global city, a city that is climate change resilient and that can perhaps be a model.”

Rebuilding will take at least three years, and success will depend on good governance and access to funds. The Philippines is currently posting impressive economic growth, but corruption is endemic and the country remains desperately poor, with millions living in slums.

National and regional authorities had ample warnings and time to prepare before the storm hit early on the morning of Nov. 8, but evacuation orders were either ignored or not enforced in a region regularly hit by powerful typhoons. Haiyan plowed through Tacloban and other coastal areas, leaving over 5,700 dead and more than 1,700 missing throughout the region. Some 4 million people were displaced.

But one couple in the town had other things on their minds Saturday.

Earvin Nierva and Riza Elmundo exchanged vows at a church and then posed for photos in a hard hit area of the city. “This gives hope to people that we can rise up,” said Elmundo. Pumping his fist, her new husband said, “Rise Tacloban!”

The storm, one of the strongest to hit land on record, triggered an international response, led by the United States and U.N. agencies.

The Philippine government has joined them in paying for food-for-work and cash-for-work emergency employment for thousands who lost their livelihoods. The workers clean up the twisted houses, trees and others debris that still cover large parts of the city and receive about 500 pesos ($11.36) a day.

On Friday, the World Bank approved $500 million in budget support that the Philippine government can use for short-term recovery and reconstruction. It is also providing technical assistance in designing housing, hospitals, schools and public facilities that can withstand super typhoons, strong earthquakes and severe floods.

Lim, the administrator, said a development master plan soon to be completed calls for people living in areas prone to storm surges to be relocated farther inland. He said while some residents might resist moving from their former neighborhoods, many others now were receptive to relocation after surviving the typhoon.

The storm led to a breakdown in government services and there were scenes of chaos as hungry survivors broke into shops, homes and gasoline stations. Lim said 19 of the 26 government agencies in the city were now operating and about 15 percent of the city has electricity.

“Psychologically, there is a sense of normalcy,” he said.

Thousands are already beginning to rebuild in areas that might well be designated not safe for human habitation.

Priscila Villarmenta was cradling a granddaughter while male relatives were fixing metal sheets and plywood to her destroyed home, which was torn apart by one of four cargo ships that were swept into her neighborhood by a tsunami-like storm surge triggered by the storm.

“We are again starting our livelihood and building our house,” she said.

[chaychay644]

I was really saddened when Yolanda strikes in Tacloban because I have lots of relatives in that place. It is also where I stayed for awhile before I came here in the States. The house that I used to live there was totally damaged and we were so damn worried coz one of my cousin were missing for 4 days. Thanks God after 5 days she went home to her aunties' house in Calbiga (a nearby town across San Juanico Bridge). It was really a huge relief for the family. I was totally speechless coz I can't imagine myself if I was still there. Tacloban is slowly recovering from this devastation.