Picture this: the wind swept in with an angry surge that shattered everything in its path, images of wreckage strewn around like in a post-apocalyptic movie, vulnerable people jammed into shelters in dreadful situations, and the seeming hopelessness and desperation that were becoming more and more apparent each waking moment.
So much can be said about Super Typhoon Yolanda, one of the deadliest tropical cyclones ever recorded. It was the 8th of November 2013โthe day when it buffeted the island of Visayas, particularly Samar and Leyte, which affected nearly 14 million people and damaged 1.1 million homes.
Everything was destroyed by the storm, both architecturally and emotionally. Lives were lost, infrastructures were destroyed, and souls were broken. The affected residents were already exhausted from having to flee and rebuild the damages done to their homes and families.
๐ ๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ก๐จ: ๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐
It has been nine years since the cataclysmic event, but the typhoon's lasting effects can still be felt, lingering like ghosts in the wind. Every year, we commemorate the tragedy to remember those who suffered, to remember the long-term recovery we went through, and to acknowledge the global aid, and the lessons we learned from it. But the storm is not yet really over though, is it?
Inevitably, there will be ten or more storms each year, and we have no way of avoiding them due to our country's geographical location. And each one feels like one trauma after another -- serving as a reminder of the destruction brought on by Super Typhoon Yolanda.
As storms and cyclones become more intense and frequent as a result of climate change, there is an urgent need for action, especially since we live in a developing country some areas are more vulnerable to extreme disasters. Many natural areas were damaged, including coconut plantations and fisheries, which are vital sources of employment for most Filipinos.
๐๐๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ก๐จ: ๐ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐จ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ง๐๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ
While it is important to acknowledge the survivors' resilience that shone brightly in the aftermath of the typhoon, it is also important to remember that the reason for this fortitude was that they had received inadequate assistance in the first place. Since the government's initial response to the terrible tragedy of Typhoon Yolanda was marked by extreme incompetence, the survivors just had to rely on romanticizing resilience just to make sense of the injustices they didn't even know existed.
Some other things are perpetually typhoon-proofโ Filipino resilience and government corruption. The global community did whatever it could to help us rebuild, but it was reported that hundreds of millions of pesos in funds meant for relief distribution and rehabilitation were allegedly pocketed by government offices instead of giving it to the victims. The Commission on Audit (COA) released its report on Typhoon Yolanda Relief Operations back in 2014 and acknowledged the injustices that happened behind the tragedy.
๐๐ฒ๐ฉ๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐จ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฒ, ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ. ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐, ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฒ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฒ, ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ?