TACLOBAN CITY -- Daisy Mae Villaroel, 23, was still in distress as she waited for her turn to be treated by Department of Health (DOH) representatives at the evacuation center in Abuyog, Leyte.
Her 2-year-old son Zharyn is one of the recent casualties left by Tropical Storm 'Agaton.' Her brother is missing, while her mother was severely injured and is being treated in the hospital.
Almost 80 percent of their village has been wiped out by a massive landslide and 'tsunami-like' wave.
As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, the local government unit reported two deaths from Brgy. Pilar, 177 are still missing, and 47 were injured.
She said that her son was still in the mortuary while they are waiting for an update on how they will be able to give a decent burial for him.
She said they were not able to save anything except themselves when the landslide first covered their village chief's house.
"We thought that we would be safe when we evacuated to my mother's house, which was a bit far from the sea," she narrated.
For a while they thought the worst was over. Their feeling turned to nightmare as a massive landslide also engulfed her mother's house as well as the road, which was supposedly their escape route.
It was followed by a surge, which prompted her to carry her sleeping son to save him but they were still caught by the wave and got separated.
"People scampered in different directions. Everyone was in panic trying to save themselves. I got pushed and my son fell from my arm even if I was hugging him," she recalled.
She swam and was swept by the current to the far end of their village. She also bumped into some wood, which caused her wounds and bruises.
"I thought it was just a nightmare. I knew my son was already gone so I just did everything to save my mother and brother who were wounded," she said.
As the road was already blocked by boulders, mud and uprooted trees, rescuers transported the survivors using a boat to the town proper.
They found her son after and attempted to revive him but to no avail. She also tried looking for her older brother Billie Joe who remains missing as of this writing.
"We can't stay here in the evacuation center forever, and we cannot go back to our village because there is nothing left for us there. We need a safer place to live in. We need help," she cried.
A total of 54 fatalities have been reported in Eastern Visayas due to 'Agaton.'These include five from Abuyog, 47 from Baybay City, and one from Motiong, Samar.