Global Voices

Sunday, November 10, 2013

PHOTOS: Cries for Help as Super Typhoon Haiyan Devastates Central Philippines

Typhoon survivors in Ormoc, Leyte paint the street with a HELP sign. Photo from Facebook of Katreena Bisnar

Typhoon survivors in Ormoc, Leyte paint the street with a HELP sign. Photo from Facebook of Katreena Bisnar



Super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) hit the Visayas islands of the Philippines which left thousands dead and homeless. The casualties could rise to more than 10,000 since the situation in many towns is still unknown at the moment.


Yolanda damaged the provinces of Samar and Leyte including Tacloban City where a storm surge instantly killed many people. Power and communication lines are down in the region. Yolanda, the world’s strongest storm this year, also struck north Cebu, Panay, Negros, and Palawan.


The main Twitter hashtag used to monitor the situation in the storm-battered provinces of the country is #yolandaph. Below are some photos which show the extent of destruction left by Yolanda:











Typhoon survivors walk the streets of Ormoc, Leyte. Notice the fallen electric posts and trees. Photo from Facebook of Katreena Bisnar

Typhoon survivors walk the streets of Ormoc, Leyte. Notice the fallen electric posts and trees. Photo from Facebook of Katreena Bisnar




In order to inform friends and relatives about their situation, survivors sent handwritten notes to TV reporters who quickly uploaded these messages online. Meanwhile, a list of survivors has been compiled too by the office of a Leyte representative.


The note reads: Brother, mommy and daddy are dead. Please inform everyone. No signal here and electricity. Aaron Almadro. Image from GMA News

The note reads: Brother, mommy and daddy are dead. Please inform everyone. No signal here and electricity. Aaron Almadro. Image from GMA News



Below are other reactions on Twitter:






The last Twitter quote refers to the looting in a Tacloban mall where survivors are desperately looking for food and water. Pinoy Bro also criticized the act:



…not acceptable and it dismayed me so much that I haven't heard or read in the news a single critic or news personality criticizing that incident, at least for now. Forgive me because maybe I am not pitiful or considerate about the situation or emotion of the looters who are of course victims of the typhoon but I just have this feeling that something here is not right.


What if you owned a mini grocery or even a sari-sari store and the next time you'll know is that people break in and loot everything? Come on Filipino people, this is not us.



But Arnold Alamon appeals for understanding:



There's a momentary breakdown of the social fabric in Tacloban right now. We should all be kinder in our assessment of our brethren who have just been through the most terrible of experiences. As things stands right now, it is probably the case that every resident of that devastated city has lost a family member or two and are now in survival mode for themselves who are left behind. The so-called looting is more a reflection of how little trust people have of official power responding to their immediate needs and less about the mettle of the people of Tacloban.



Written by Mong Palatino · comments (0)

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via Global Voices » Feature http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/11/10/photos-cries-for-help-as-super-typhoon-haiyan-devastates-central-philippines/

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posted by Stephen Downes @ 10:44 AM

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