(Part2) My Yolanda story Less than an hour before noon, we found ourselves trekking the flooded streets towards the Parish, in order to check with the rest of the team. The people in Villa hotel allowed us to pass through their building exiting towards the Centrum which is now only a few steps away from the Parish gates. Debris of all sort were all over the streets, mixed with an ankle deep murky waters. It was still raining when we left the Chapter office. The volunteers performed their assigned tasks doing first aid and assessment as we head towards the other half of our team who made it to the Parish Convent the night before. I think it was Maam Grace or Sir Amiel I heard shouting from a distance as we carefully walk through the broken glass and dirt scattered across the Parish grounds. I immediately learned of their ordeal just by looking at the damage the building suffered, the colourful glass panel that lines the concrete staircase shattered and its steel casing visible across the street as it lies down in the direction of a Saint Peters Colleges covered walk. It was my first time to enter the Church near the Altar, when I looked up I found that several portions of the roofing was either gone or hanging dangerously loose to the wooden frame. I saw Maam Bev, and I immediately learned that she was due to deliver her baby when Yolanda tear the Maternity Hospital apart, that she had to remove her own IV line and slowly ran towards the Church for shelter amidst the flying debris. I was glad to see that the rest of the team were okay, including our pregnant staff Maam Pinky and Maam Ji who fervently prayed with other people who also took shelter in the Church. I, together with three others, I think it was Sir Don, Manong and Sir Rey with me, returned to man the Office for fear of looters and that some may come for help. Shortly after, a guy from Villa hotel called for help for they need an injured child transported to the Ormoc Doctor’s Emergency Room. Sir Don and Sir Rey immediately responded. There were many unaccounted events in the Parish Convent, the volunteers and response team were exhausted and hungry when they recollected at the Office. We learned of the fate of our CA, she got injured, the reason why she could not come to lead her flock. Sir Rex, the next senior staff, called us all to announce that since we are at the moment leaderless and stressed, he deemed it best for us to retreat home for the day, to attend for our family’s needs. He added that event the City’s Command Center is down, the Rescue Operations is down because they themselves were affected by the typhoon. There was an eerie silence after the storm, at around 6PM, only a few people remained in the Chapter Office, others went straight home to check on their families. Day 1 after Yolanda, we started cleaning up the office and preparing the premises for the possible surge of volunteers and response team from other places, a standard procedure being a Red Cross Chapter. As expected people began coming in, first some locals and stranded passengers, asking for spare food or first aid or help in of any sort. It was a long day of work and the dirt and debris seemed endless that only on the 2nd day after Yolanda that we finally cleared the chapter grounds for the coming operations. It was passed noontime we are at the final stages of out clean up drive when our CA arrived to check on us, then shortly after, a delegation came from NHQ, I learned that they were pre deployed in Cebu during the typhoon and had the mission to assess Tacloban ASAP. In the afternoon, we heard of a roar of a helicopter engine. For me it was a sign of hope, for 2 days now we had no communication of any kind from the nearby towns or the city of Tacloban where most TV networks pre deployed their teams of storm chasers. I was tending to the trash just outside our chapter gates, when I saw Sir Rex on his usual Rescue outfit, but as he closes my position I knew something was different. I saw horror on his face as he relay the news of the chopper that landed in the City Hall earlier. I immediately learned that the chopper belonged to the DOE Secretary Icot Petilla, and he heralds horrific news of the fate of the Taclobanons and the nearby coastal towns of Palo, Tanauan and Tolosa. His words of “dead bodies scattered across streets and along the coastlines” pierced my heart and brought tears to my eyes, even Sir Rex was tearing as he re-tells the observations made by Secretary Icot that day. That moment, enthusiasm left me, and fear took over because I remembered receiving a text message from home that one of my brothers was in Tacloban the night before the typhoon because he was On-duty. The food tasted flat, and my mouth was bitter, during the evening meal, more people came, a group of physicians from Sotto Hospital who were Taclobanons asked if they could stay for the night because accommodations were not available. Among them was my former Medtech Intern now Doctor Jami, who had blood shot eyes due to sleepless nights after Yolanda, his hometown, Baras, Palo, was one of the badly hit towns along the eastern coast according to newsfeeds. Then another group of people came, one who identified himself as a Coast Guard all are hopeful of good news when they reach their respective destinations. That night I could not sleep, I kept on calling my brother Caloy’s cel, and it just keeps on ringing followed by a voice prompt. I was hopeful that he answers the call at the same time terrified of the idea that somebody else might answer the call. ( to be continued...)
Posted on: Sun, 01 Dec 2013 12:27:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015