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
"normalcy" 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.
A typhoon survivor breaks into tears inside the
Santo Nino Church in Tacloban, central Philippines
Earvin Nierva and Rise El Mundo exchanged
marriage 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 El Mundo.
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.
Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and
Australian Foreign Minister Julia Bishop separately
flew to Tacloban on Sunday to check on typhoon
assistance provided by their governments. Onodera
stooped and exchanged high-fives with children
who lined up to greet him at a Tacloban school that
was turned into a shelter for 365 displaced
families.
Typhoon survivors get a haircut along the streets
for P50 (about US$1) in Tacloban, central Philippine
Bishop chatted with patients at a field hospital set
up with Australian help outside Tacloban's ruined
airport and pledged to increase her country's
financial aid.
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.
Rebuilding after the typhoon is a colossal work for
an impoverished country that is still recovering
from a recent earthquake that hit a nearby island
and a Muslim rebel attack that razed houses in
clashes in September in the south. Haiyan
destroyed or damaged more than a million homes.
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.
Typhoon survivors touch an image of Mary inside
the Santo Nino Church in Tacloban, central
Philippine
"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.
In Palo town near Tacloban, dozens of names of
villagers who perished were read in a memorial
Sunday before Archbishop John Du celebrated Mass
at a cathedral where the moon was visible through
the steel rafters of the roof that was blown away by
the typhoon.
Held to remember the dead and provide healing
and closure, the ceremony was attended by
survivors who recounted their tragic ordeals,
including a Roman Catholic priest, who lost his
mother and presided over her funeral Mass.
"We have lost so much of what we own," Du said in
the homily. "But here, friends, we have never lost
hope."
As darkness fell, hundreds of villagers piled out of
the cathedral with lit candles and walked in a
procession to a mass grave of about 100 typhoon
victims in the church compound that was fenced
off by white ribbon and marked by flowers. Du
blessed the dead then the grieving survivors began
to walk away, leaving clusters of candles at the
edge of the grave flickering in the wind.
Sent From David Aniemeka
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