Albay residents cope with slow process of rebuilding

With used milk cans and iron sheets nailed on wood, victims of typhoon "Reming" push on with the tough and slow process of rebuilding their lives.

Everyday, couple Rennie, 46, and Dominica Olayres, 39, dig on the same spot where their modest nipa hut used to stand before super typhoon Reming wiped out their community in Purok 7, Barangay Ilawod in Guinobatan, Albay two weeks ago.

"We may still find our frying pan, our tables or our clothes. We need to find anything that can help us start a new life," Dominica said.

Dominica’s family was one of those whose lives and dreams were shattered when Reming ravaged the Bicol region.

Last Saturday, the Olayreses and close to 1,200 other families were given a respite from their ordeal through a relief mission of The STAR’s Operation Damayan in Albay and Camarines Sur.

Damayan volunteers traveled to Barangays Sona 1 and 2 in Libon; Balinad in Polangui; Ilawod, San Rafael and Malipon in Guinobatan; Libod in Camalig; Libao; San Antonio in Tabaco, all in Albay and in Binanuanan, Pili, Camarines Sur to distribute five kilos of rice, 10 assorted canned goods; half kilo of dried fish; 10 noodles; coffee, sugar, double-size plastic mat and blanket; flashlight and assorted medicines to each of the families.

The volunteers also gave out relief goods and fruits to residents on the national road of Albay.

Along with the beneficiaries, the volunteers braved strong rains brought by "Seniang," the typhoon that followed Reming.

With the havoc wrought by Reming still fresh in their minds, the residents were fearful of the destruction that Seniang would cause.

Dominica recalled that at the height of Reming, a river and a creek near their neighborhood swelled.

"We didn’t notice it. We just heard someone shouting for all of us to evacuate. If not for him, we would have been dead by now," he said.

The water rose quickly. The Olayres family along with their neighbors had to wade in neck-high floodwaters to reach an elevated road some 200 meters away from their house.

From afar, the couple saw their house crumbling and being washed away like a deck of cards. When the flood subsided, debris, boulders and two-meter thick mud were left on their yard.

"The rains brought down the big rocks and lahar deposited from the slope of Mayon. Our place is like a desert now. We don’t know when our life will return to normal," she said.

The couple made a makeshift shelter out of the debris that they recovered after the typhoon while their three children sought refuge in a friend’s house.

Christmas in the evacuation center

Just like the Olayreses, the family of Jocelyn Lazaro, 46, of Purok 6 in Libod, Camalig also faces an uncertain future even after surviving Reming’s wrath.

With her husband and eight children, Jocelyn has been seeking shelter at the Libod Elementary School because their house was washed away by rampaging mudflow from Mt. Mayon.

"Most likely, we’ll celebrate Christmas here in the evacuation center. This is the bleakest Christmas that we’ll experience," she said.

Jocelyn recounted that amid heavy downpour, they heard a thunderous noise, which, they learned, was caused by raging boulders and mud from the volcano. The family ran to the second floor of the nearest concrete house.

"We saved nothing but the clothes we were wearing. We have to start from the scratch. I don’t think we can get help from our relatives because most of them also lost their properties," she said.

The Lazaros used to earn a living by making trays out of rattan for a small-scale factory. But this factory as well as their backyard vegetable garden were destroyed by Reming, forcing the family to depend on relief missions.

"I’m not sure until when we can live like this. We want to start a new life, to build our house but we don’t know how to do it. We have no money to start with," Jocelyn said.

But for 20-year-old Salve Blanche, of Purok 4, San Rafael in Guinobatan, she said that while their house is now buried under hip-high mud, they are still lucky because none of her family members died in the typhoon.

Salve admitted that seeing floodwaters battering their neighbors’ houses, they knew that death was coming to them.

"We first thought of running but the water was already chest high. We realized that if we got out of the house, we might also die and be washed away," she said.

The family decided to stay put, thinking that if death was inevitable, they’d rather that it happened inside their house.

"We thought that at least our bodies would still be found if we die inside our house. Had we ran outside, we would have been washed into the sea or buried in mud by now. But fortunately, it didn’t happen. We are still alive and we are thankful to God for that," she said.

Operation Damayan expresses its gratitude to the anonymous donor — the first for the benefit of Reming’s victims — for donating P100,000 to the cause.

Damayan is calling anyone who wishes to help by supporting another relief mission of Damayan in January 2007. Donations may be deposited at Metro Bank (Aduana branch) at Savings Account Number 151-304-161622-9.

After depositing, Damayan is requesting that the deposit slips be faxed with the donor’s name to 527-2401 or 527-6859. For inquiries, please call Damayan coordinators Emie Cruz, Myra Sabalboro and Melita Dioso at 527-7901 to 10.