It just seemed to be another Thursday, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Just another cold Canadian winter day. This feeling slowly changed once I turned on the television and heard news of a category 5 super typhoon striking my homeland, the Philippines. Typhoon Hiyan known by the world, but to my country, goes by the name of Yolanda, made landfall with the Philippines at the Southern province Eastern Samar in the city of Guiuan.
Typhoon Hiyan raged through the Philippines. Even after making landfall it had sustained winds of 235km/h, with gusts of 275 km/h and waves as big as 15 metres. The Philippines is well acquainted with storms, typhoons, and hurricanes; it’s quite common for the Filipino people to experience disasters like this. Yet, amidst with government preparations and evacuations, they weren’t prepared for the disastrous storm that would unfold in the coming days ahead.
One of the hardest hit provinces by Typhoon Hiyan is the Philippine province of Leyte. The Leyte city of Tacloban, is home to one of the most affected regions of by the super typhoon. Reports surface stating that the entire city is completely flattened, except for a couple of tall standing coconut trees. Corpses line the streets, leaving a stench of rotting flesh, a constant reminder of the causalities that have been caused in the past days. Make shift hospitals sprung up to ease the need of medicine for a people so devastated. Women are reported of giving birth as the storm cleared, without any anaesthetics or pain killers.
According to a United Nations report, 9.8 million people have been affected, more than 660,000 people displaced, adding to the 2.8 million that have been displaced by earlier natural disasters that have raged through the Philippines. The damage caused is hectic, the figures of course are merely simple estimates compared to the real numbers. The Governor of Leyte is completely at shock to the events that have unfolded. According to the Governor, 273 casualties have been confirmed, but world reports beg to differ to a grander number of 10,000 merely in Tacloban City alone.
The President of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III, has declared Philippines under a state of calamity. The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the United Nations would send humanitarian aide to show solidarity with the people of the Philippines. Nations such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, have pledged to send their own humanitarian aide to the ravaged South East Asian nation.
Canada is even sending their own foreign aide to support the Filipino people. Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird announced after a Remembrance Day ceremony that the Canadian government will employ the Disaster Assistance Response Team, or DART, to assist the 9.8 million people affected by the super typhoon. DART, was initially employed in Haiti when a disastrous earthquake raged the Caribbean island in 2010.
Though, regardless of all the support from the world, it is not enough. Humanitarian services are spread thin to a nation that has already experienced natural disasters in the wake of 2013. There isn’t enough food or water to support the displaced evacuees. Looting and desperate measures have been taken by evacuees just to get basic supplies they need to survive. Fear of violence continues to grow as Tacloban’s supplies quickly run scarce. According to military officials, in a week if supplies don’t come in soon, killings will take place to meet the demands of the starving and displaced peoples.
As the week continues to unfold, Typhoon Haiyan has weakened from a super typhoon to a high tropical storm. Haiyan has made landfall with Vietnam but at a much lesser state. Even though the typhoon has left the threshold of the Philippine islands, the devastation caused is still prevalent throughout the many islands that compose the Philippines. This super typhoon has been dubbed by many media outlets as one of the gravest storms of recorded human history.
This disaster cannot be comprehended by most, and even after the country gets back on it’s feet, the lasting effects of this typhoon will forever be carried by those who witnessed it. The psychological and physical toll it must take to overcome.
For those who wish to help in relief efforts in the Philippines after the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan, you may contact:
