Yolanda, The Strongest Typhoon Ever

Well, we all know what happened and we all know what is happening. During the first night, when it when all the electricity and communication lines were out – we had no idea what was going on. 

We knew it was a big one and warnings were relatively early. The president made a public announcement warning the country. 

However, no one have imagined how extreme the effect of Yolanda (aka Haiyan) would have been.

For days, I have been tuning into the news and have been treated to more and more horrible pictures, videos and coverage. Just when you think you already got it, how bad it is and everything, more sad news comes along.

There are criticism, there are complaints. People are angry. People are desperate. There are a lot of things that are said, can be said and that people keep on saying... 

It’s such a large typhoon, the greatest one ever, that spanned from east to west. It is not just 1 province that was vastly damaged, the typhoon covered 2/3 of the country. Tacloban, though it is so famous now, is not the only place that has been hit. In hard hit areas there are: No electricity. No communication. No access.

So, it is what it is. It is a catastrophic natural disaster. It is a tragedy. It is a crisis. It was just that bad. That is the point. 

It has been said that the first responders themselves are victims hence there isn’t even enough people to restore order.

I heard on the news that out of the 290 policemen of Tacloban only 22 showed up for work – where the others are (are they dead or looking for their loved ones?), who knows? I also heard that the leader of the soldier group stationed at the airport was also washed away to sea and was found miles away, after being at sea for 6 hours.

It is a mess. It is a bad situation.  

So, people should just stop saying things and doing things that are really not relevant and not particularly helpful.

And, just go out and help!

I am glad that the country is having all this international news coverage. There now seems to be an outpour of help coming from around the world. The fact that there are so many notable CNN correspondents that are in the country right now alone (I heard Anderson Cooper is here somewhere) has given the country so much airtime and this is good.  

Still, watching all the coverage has been very sad and depressing. Yet I still watch. 

I have been told by friends, who are not particularly the dramatic kind, that they actually cried while watching the news. People are saying that they feel traumatized just by watching the TV, thinking that as a Filipino, this has happened and is still happening to other Filipinos. 

All the tragedy, just gives you pause to think about issues of humanity, tragedy and survival, I suppose. 

After all, it was one crisis and tragedy after another - the Zambo incident, the Bohol earthquake, the Napoles issue.... and the list goes on. 

On this note...  Filipinos has always been thought of a resilient and happy group of people...

As sentiments like these around the net has been said... 

Let us all put our chins up and hope for more positive things to come.

Here's hoping for more bayanihan and less of these people who are exploiting a bad situation for their own gain...

(I am not talking about those victims who stole food for survival. I am talking about alleged rebel groups who shot at relief convoys and hi jacked the supplies and about those who looted items only to them sell them at high prices).

#StrongerPH