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2 years after Yolanda (Typhoon Haiyan)
It’s been 2 years since Yolanda (international name Typhoon haiyan) hit my hometown, Tacloban City.
To this day, it still hurts to think about it and much more to even talk about.
Days before the disaster, everyone knew it was coming and some people made preparations while others just thought it’d be just anotherstorm that Tacloban has gotten so used to in the past. I can still recall that Storm Signals 1 and 2 were very common in Tacloban Cityand things were still deemed normal during a Storm signal 3.
No one properly anticipated nor prepared for one tagged as a Signal number 4. Not only did Typhoon Haiyan bring devastating winds, butit also caused Storm Surges which did most of the damage not only in the Philippines but in other areas that was in its path.
The devastation experienced by Tacloban City was apocalyptic in nature and the closest you could get to an End of The World Scenario.
Everyone lost someone. I lost some friends, some members of our extended family, classmates and others. To this day, I am struggling with Survivor’s guilt.
This strengthened my resolve to be prepared for the worst. People died on a daily basis from lack of water and supplies after Yolanda.
There was chaos. There was strife. People looting for survival. People looting for the heck of it. The living conditions in the citywas downright apalling. Bodies were strewn all over the place. Decomposing bodies were left unattended. People got sick. People eventually died. Supplies ran out. Relief goods weren’t enough. Some relief goods weren’t even distributed and eventually rotted out.
And then you have the totally inept handling of the National Government led by the totally brain dead DILG secretary Mar Roxas who waseither high or blind to what was around him. I’m not very up front with my political views but if this is our next president, I’m moving to Guam!
Yolanda will forever be a name reviled as a killer in the figurative and literal sense. To date, there are 6,300 deaths listedofficially in the Philippines. Perhaps we can add another death to that list but this one is figurative in nature as this basically pertains to the death of Mar Roxas’ bid to become the president.
His words and actions in and out of Tacloban City during the disaster has cost him the support of the majority of people in Visayas.
If he ever garners a lot of votes in Visayas, it should be investigated thoroughly because in Tacloban and Samar alone there’s a boycott against his elitist political attitude.
But then I’m going off on a tangent here and let’s bring it back to the main reason why I wrote this. Yolanda may have killed a lot of people but it also made something come alive. And that is hope. There were several acts of heroism amidst all that chaos. There was empathy shown by politicians who showed that they could walk the walk when talking the talk is done and over with. Mayors Rody Duterte and Alfred Romualdez let actions speak louder than words with what they did with the resources they had at that time.
People from Tacloban who weren’t in the area when the typhoon struck sent in all the help they could provide from prayers to clothing.
There was a global movement unifying everyone to assist the people of Tacloban. And that’s the positive thing you can derive from something so negative and devastating.
It’s been 2 years since Yolanda and I still have my bug out bag ready and stocked at all times because you never know when something like that could happen to you, wiping everything in existence in the blink of an eye.
If you don’t have a BOB or a bug out bag, I suggest you make one now.
It doesn’t have to be a full out BOB like the ones you see on doomsday preppers. All you basically need in a simple BOB are these items:
– Basic first aid kit
– A utility knife
– a length of rope
– a change of clothes
– a container with water (2 liters at best)
– some food (biscuits, jerky and other things that don’t need cooking)
– a lighter
– some money or currency to trade with
with these items you can work your way out of the disaster area and get to a place of relative safety. Don’t stay too long in the disaster area and wait for relief goods to come or people to aid you. Make your own way and get out as fast as you can. After you’re out of there that’s when you can think of saving others. The key thing here is you have to survive in order to help others survive as well. You’re no good to anyone when you’re dead (unless you’re a martyr).
My BOB is two years old now and I check it from time to time to make sure every thing in there is still in its optimal condition.
Once again: If you don’t have a BOB or a bug out bag, I suggest you make one now. Don’t wait for a disaster to hit you unaware.
And boycott Mar Roxas’ bid for presidency! Don’t vote for an idiot to replace an idiot.