When there's no one to hear your call for help, no home to go back to -- there is something you need to embrace what is only left, to be strong to survive. A survivor was asked where he's going and answered with confusion like he's walking nowhere in the midst of tsunami hit-like zone showed hopelessness in his face. It was the day after the storm and he couldn't grasp the horror, a real scene or a nightmare while sitting on top of the debris of flattened home. I wasn't there to witness but I could feel the agony. I could feel the pain. I've watched the videos of the most devastating typhoon, Yolanda, (Haiyan). Just looking at the images almost gave me a feeling of hopelessness too. But out of the hopeless situation, there is still a light of hope from a survivor's story, a reason why he made it through the storm.
The nation prepared for the strongest storm to land in the country. Other provinces in Visayas were also directly hit and almost 80% or properties were washed away but less casualty was reported. What happened to Tacloban was beyond everyone else's imagination and disaster was beyond off scale. Literally, storm surge now means ocean water that goes to the land. On the day of the storm, the boats washed ashore while human bodies swayed into the ocean. There were some warnings about up to 7 meters of wave heights, flashfloods and landslides but it was a disaster and no one could exactly tell about how much preparation is needed until caught by surprise by the storm. We learned what "flood" means from Ondoy and now learned what "storm surge" means from Yolanda.
The president declared last night a state of national calamity. Mr. President gave updates and thanked international communities and foreign countries who pledged for help. In this time of grief, the help and donation coming in from different groups or individual is an indication of hope, knowing that there is empathy message in unity and this calamity will be over, if not soon.
Help and prayers are all that we can do. Let us pray for the survivors to embrace what is only left with them now, to stay strong and survive. Let us pray for those who did not survive the storm to find peace for their soul. Let us pray for the volunteers and rescuers enough strength for their mind and body to handle and deal the situation on the brink of catastrophe. Let us pray to guide the conscience of public officials and those handling donations to spend up to the last cent of the fund fairly and evenly where it is intended for, the survivors.
Let us all unite and stop blaming why it all happened, question lack of preparations, the curse of the government or the microwave pulse. What we can do right now, and I think the best that we can do is give a hand and pray.
