Hagupit brings back pains of Haiyan
Lyka, 11 years old, feels like she’s back to November 2013 when her whole family was rushing to escape the wrath of Typhoon Haiyan.
“The only difference now is that my mother and my younger sister are no longer with us,” she lowers her head. Both of them, according to her, were taken by the crashing waves of Haiyan.
They were not able to evacuate a day before the typhoon came. When it started lashing the city, they ran to where they thought they will all be safe.
“We were all running. My five siblings and I were able to immediately go to the second floor of the shopping centre but Mama and my sister didn’t make it because she was trying to save our grandfather. The water rose so fast,” she adds. Her mother was also pregnant during that time.
It has been a year of coping and healing for the whole family. When they heard that Typhoon Hagupit might hit Eastern Visayas, memories started haunting them.
The only difference now is that my mother and my younger sister are no longer with us.
“Papa said we need to evacuate early. That is why we are here. I am afraid,” she says and looks at her three-year-old sister. Their family evacuated at the Eastern Visayas State University on Friday, December 5.
Meanwhile, school security, Tani, performs his duty at San Jose Central School despite the threat of Hagupit.
“This was declared unsafe for evacuation so I am here to make sure that no family will be here. Last year was a nightmare for many of us. We were all on the rooftop and it is hard to imagine if that happens again,” he explains. The city government has 21 declared safe evacuation centres in Tacloban.
Response Director Andrew Rosauer said preparedness is key at this time, as everyone waits for the potential landfall. “I am confident of World Vision’s readiness to respond if the impact is severe. We have prepositioned goods at our warehouses for over 1,000 families and our emergency experts are on the ground ready to run a relief operation quickly,” Rosauer says.
World Vision is also working with different organisations in the provision of IEC materials on disaster preparedness. Its frontline SMS is also fully activated to get communities’ concerns through text messages.
As of 11pm, Typhoon Hagupit was located at 310km East of Borongan, Eastern Samar and might make a landfall on Saturday evening. According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, Hagupit has maximum sustained winds of 195 kph near the centre and gustiness of up to 230 kph.
“I think my Mama and my sister are our guardian angels. I miss them both and I hope no one will die again,” shares Lyka.