The typhoon that swept through and devastated provinces in the Philippines is nothing short of a national disaster. Estimates for the dead have risen as high as 10,000 while more than 1,800 people have been confirmed dead and over half a million people left homeless. It would be next to impossible for those of us living in the Kingdom to imagine the impact and the human suffering unless we were there. Jeff Ruffolo, an American writer who was in Cebu at the time, brings to us an eyewitness account of the reality of it all.
In his words: “I am a survivor. And I have been as wounded as any person that has been raped and abused – unwanted and unasked. To describe to you what it was to survive the superstorm that was Haiyan was a descent not only into madness but a journey from the 21st century to the 13th century in a matter of moments. “Haiyan was a mad, evil thing that rose up out of the depths of darkness to pounce upon the islands of the Philippines and carve a path of destruction that is unlike anything mankind has ever seen. Think of the sheer power of superstorm Sandy that came ashore in New Jersey and pulverized one community after another. Think of the awesome impact of superstorm Katrina that laid waste to New Orleans. Then put both of them in a blender, mix well and dump the remains onto the southern oceans southeast of the Philippine Islands and allow it to bubble and rise up to destroy everything in its path – then you will have a small taste of what Haiyan was like. It was like an angry fist from the heavens. “It happened in this way for me, my family, only a few days ago…Last Wednesday, my wife Cris and I were in Alaya Mall, an upscale shopping center in Cebu when it was flashed that a major storm was coming directly at the city. Rushing home, we frantically called Cris' mom on Leyte, a province located on another island located northeast of Cebu and she immediately grabbed her bag and headed out to get onto one of the last ferries down to Cebu City. "The reports were coming in fast and furiously now. Philippine government reports were already warning everyone in Cebu to take shelter. All schools in Cebu were closing and the three major grocery stores/malls were being overwhelmed with panic buying. I jumped into a taxi and zoomed over to the SM Grocery Store to pick up whatever canned goods and bottled water I could – but you could forget any bread, eggs or other perishables. By the time I got to the supermarket, those were long gone. I saw dozens of families rushing up and down isles dumping everything they could into shopping carts only to find they had no money to pay for it at the check-out stands. I was fortunate to have bought the last cooked chicken the store offered. "Thursday was a “dead day” as Haiyan made her ever so slow advance toward Cebu. Cris' mom spent a lot of time with the kids which freed Cris and me to make preparations on her house which fortunately was built quite solidly – unlike the shanty homes with tin roofs that surrounded her backyard. “Haiyan then pounced - descending onto Cebu on Friday morning at 9 A.M., making landfall on Leyte and the other small islands surrounding it. Then it hit Cebu City. When it did the power of this single storm nearly instantly exploded every power transformer in Cebu, sending the second largest city of the nation of the Philippines of more than two million souls into complete darkness, and by 10 A.M we all suddenly had made a one-way journey into the 13th century. There was no power, no Internet service and for most people in Cebu, no running water. “The full power of Haiyan then came onto us like an unwanted guest at 3 P.M. The sky turned an evil black as Haiyan swirled above us. It was the most terrifying experience you could ever imagine as this evil thing looked at me, took me as naught, continuing along her pathway of complete destruction. Haiyan placed her full fury onto the northern part of Cebu, churning and grinding away at everything made by the hands of man. Nothing physically made by humans could withstand the awesome power of Haiyan. And nothing did. “Our family huddled together in the darkness for several hours. By 4 A.M. that Saturday morning, Haiyan had sucked out all of the oxygen in her move northeast and out of the Philippines and what was left was this thick, anxious “air” that burned the lungs. Not able to sleep, I went back to the front porch and sat outside in front of a single candle that drew in all of the insects from the surround area – seeking the comfort of this single light. “As time slowly passed, I could hear the zombies of Cebu rising from what was left of their tin-roofed homes. Moaning and slouching in their quiet dismay, they passed by without a glance as none of us wanted to acknowledge others. One became two and slowly the group of undead residents emerged, seeing the remnant of the broken trees that were dispersed all around. They too had survived Haiyan and as dawn broke their humanity was slowly returned to them. “We lived another day. Thousands of their countrymen were not as fortunate especially the city of Tacloban in Leyte. Haiyan plucked their lives away from them as you might pick fruit from a tree. My family made it through this event but we will never be the same.” While Jeff has described his own experience, no words or clips on television can fully describe the brutality and the horror that swept through the affected areas. In the aftermath of the destruction, the people there are in need. Citizens and residents of the Kingdom must acknowledge the tremendous contributions made by Filipinos to this country's development over the decades. And what better way to display it than to stand by them in their hour of need. Individually and collectively, we can make a difference by helping in any way we can. Call the nearest diplomatic mission of the Philippines and find out how you can help. It is the least we can do to alleviate some of the sufferings of Filipino citizens.
– The author can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena
