AFTER TYPHOON ODETTE, a 'Welcome Visitors' arch stands before damaged houses and trees in a barangays in Limasawa Island.
Limasawa, Southern Leyte — When the restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was eased, Elsie Telen, 64, her husband, and two granddaughters went back home to the island after selling their house in Cavite in November.
They wanted to forget the bitter experience from COVID-19 after losing one of their two children to it in April.
With the money from the sale of their house, the couple built a new house in the historic island known as the site of the first Holy Mass in the country. That newly-built house was flattened during the onslaught of Typhoon 'Odette' just a few days before Christmas.
"We went home because we're old and jobless in the city. Here, we can just fish and plant crops so we will have something to eat. We did not expect that another tragedy will happen to us," she said.
After Typhoon Odette’s exit, Elsie’s husband built a makeshift shelter using old nails and wood. Their neighbors gave them dry clothes because they were not able to save anything except their lives.
"We are grateful to all those who sent food. We are asking for help to rebuild our house. Our remaining child can’t help much because he also has a family to support. I was only able to contact him once to tell him that all our stuff was soaked in water," she said.
Barangay Magallanes in Limasawa is believed to be where the first Catholic Mass in the Philippines was held on March 31, 1521. The barangay is the worst hit among the six villages on the island. All of the houses were damaged by the typhoon.
Christmas was pitch dark for over 20 families still living in the evacuation center in Barangay San Agustin. Some could not afford to pay P20 to recharge their flashlights. Most do not even own flashlights or solar lights.
DAMAGED SCHOOL building in Limasawa Island.
One of the typhoon victims, Janet Capin, 43, said she almost died when the typhoon was battering the classroom where they were staying.
"We were crying. We thought we were all going to die because we felt that the wind would blow us away while we tried to get out of the building after the roof of the classroom collapsed," she said.
Yesterday, Janet, like the other families, were working fast to finish makeshift shelters so they can move out of the evacuation center before classes resume on Jan. 3.
"We were told that we had to find another place to stay because they will be using the classrooms already. If only we had building materials, we can help each other build back our homes," she said.
Mayor Melchor Petracorta said it would be easier to rebuild the island if the people would have their livelihood back. He said 80 percent of the population is fisherfolk and 90 percent of their bancas have been damaged by the typhoon.
"This is the worst typhoon that ever hit us since the 90s. At least 90 percent of the town was damaged. We had prepared for the typhoon but because of our vulnerability, we could only do so much," he said.
"Maybe we can sustain our food for two to three months because of the donations, But what will happen after that? We were also hit by the pandemic. As a sixth class municipality, we only have a little money left from our calamity fund," he said.
To help them work on recovery, the mayor has appealed to the National Electrification Administration to help them restore electricity on the island.