Taming Yolanda’s fury

The power of communication technology is such that the whole world knows about the miserable tragedy that super typhoon Yolanda (international name, Haiyan) slammed  on provinces in the Visayas, killing thousands of men, women and children, shattering buildings to smithereens, rendering populations hungry, thirsty, shivering from storm surges, and feeling abandoned, desolate, angry, and hopeless.

We should thank CNN for its comprehensive, unending coverage of the Tacloban tragedy. CNN must have moved viewers to sympathize with, and come to the aid of, the  survivors of the strongest typhoon that ever hit this planet: parents crying over drowned parents and children and lost relatives; angry faces and stretched hands demanding food, water, medicines, shelter. You can see Tacloban city in complete ruin. Houses broken apart, caused by 10-foot high waves and howling winds. Awful scenes splashed on the screen. Scientists said a Signal No. 4 super typhoon would hit the Visayas; but not one of them had any idea of the impact of the tempest that was more than three times the force of Katrina in the US several years ago.

There was, and still is, so much focus on the Leyte capital city of Tacloban (made famous by Gen. Douglas McArthur  wading through the waters, declaring, “I shall return.”) but many other places in the island of Leyte and surrounding islands (Eastern Samar (Guiuan), Panay, Capiz, Northern Palawan, and Coron, Palawan)are still  desolate landscapes —  destroyed buildings and ruined agricultural crops,  and inhabitants near starvation point and at their wit’s end — up to today. At this writing yesterday, a lawyer texted me: “Please send Red Cross  and other aid agencies to Banayon and all barangays of Dagami. They’re hungry and thirsty.”

Thank God cries for help and salvation have not fallen on deaf ears. Immediately, countries and organizations started to send , and continue to send,  millions of dollars donations, relief goods, water and medicines, among them the US, Canada, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the People’s Republic of China, the International Federation of Red Cross, United Nations agencies, civic organizations, Catholic and Protestant relief divisions, and media networks, among them the Philippine STAR’s Operation Damayan. As of this writing, American ships have docked at the Tacloban pier, bringing food packages, heavy equipment to help clear the streets of debris and help build temporary shelters. The complete feeding of thousands and rehabilitation and relief work will take time, patience and more financial assistance.

As I expected, upon learning that Yolanda had struck, Philippine Red Cross  Chairman Richard “Dick” Gordon quickly deployed assistance and relief teams to evaluate the damage and to support rescue efforts. Staff and volunteers from local chapters were deployed in the different affected areas.         

But even before Yolanda entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), PRC Leyte had packed relief goods for immediate distribution to evacuation centers. Hot meals would be ready for evacuation centers. PRC Cebu’s  regional warehouse was piled high with 2,000 tins of read-to-eat food, 4,000 blankets, 4000 plastic mats, 2,000 hygiene kits, 2,000 jerry cans, 10 units of health emergency tents and thousands of food  and non-food items, purchased from the  support sent by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Soon after Yolanda struck in Tacloban, PRC’s 32-man team arrived in Tacloban, with the Olongapo chapter bringing 10 chainsaws, Quezon city, 12, and Manila chapter, six.  They also brought one rescue truck, one closed van, three ambulances, 5,000 liters of fuel tanker,  and one  6x 6 truck. They set up a blood bank (with a blood bank refrigerator with generator), a rescue boat, two buffalo banks, satellite phones, single-side band mobile radios, 50 shovels, 30 pairs of boots, 30 pairs of safety  gloves, three boxes of medical gloves, three boxes of masks, flashlights, pick mattocks, and claw bars.

They brought 10,000 tins of ready-to-eat meals and 1,000 packs of food items, but obviously, the stuff was not enough to reach all the hungry survivors.

When the area is cleared of debris, PRC is going to set up 120 tents and 20 dome tents — donated by Kuwait. Ten thousand body bags are being readied, as will be water and sanitation tankers and six water bladders.

 Battle-scarred but not one to give up, Dick Gordon, giving directions  from the Manila PRC headquarters to teams in the field, is positive things are going to work out, but slowly because of the severe damage inflicted by Yolanda.  But, drawing from his experience as administrator of the Subic  Metropolitan Authority, he feels that with every agency — government and private – and individuals from outside of the province, and the survivors, cooperating with one another, the affected areas will be rehabilitated.  “Magtulungan tayo, bumangon tayo kagaya noong mga panahon na kami tinamaan ng Pinatubo,” he said.

A piece of good news is Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras’ declaration, in an interview with Karen Davila yesterday morning, that the government and private sectors are going to plan renewal project that will take into consideration the topographical and geological features of  the affected areas to prevent future catastrophes like super typhoon Yolanda.

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Public school  students are fortunate that they are enjoying the augmentation of their classroom learning with the showing of Knowledge Channel shows. The courses teach them extra lessons in history, mathematics, science and English, arts and culture, and social values, among others. They also teach students to be electronically-proficient.

For school year 2013-14, beginning this month, new shows are being shown.

First of these is “Carlos’ Blog,” created for high school English so students will have a better understanding and appreciation of Philippine drama and theater. Each story in the three-part series revolves around Carlos, who jots his experiences and thoughts through a blog. The program also sheds light on the negative effects of alcoholism and tobacco consumption and abuse.

 There’s “Economiks with Dr. Tullao,” esteemed De la Salle University economics professor who  discusses the laws of supply and demand, and the roles of markets and governments, using live action, animation and text graphics.

“Kwentong Kartero” is the love story of Popo, a mailman or kartero, and Divina, a teacher. The funny, yet informative and value-laden episodes of three series, talk about population and development, sexuality, and responsible parenthood.

“Agos” is a four part series that talks about water, its forms, processes, conservation and preservation.  

“Pamilya Masigasig” stars Wendell Ramos and Arlene Muhlach, as they talk about skills training and entrepreneurship based on TESDA’s units of competencies and modules on food processing, commercial cooking, bread and pastry production, food and beverage servicing, and horticulture.

“From Lines to Life” is a set of videos that discusses the basics of making an animated film, from writing, pre-production, production, to post-production, and even music and voice recording. The goals of these videos are to familiarize Filipino viewers with the medium, and encourage them to tell stories through films, thereby producing more original Filipino animated content.

“K-LIKASAN: Kalma Klima and Weather Weather Lang,” features Kalma Klima and Weather Weather Lang, in episodes on student environmental projects which became top winners of Best Student Projects on Climate Change. Initiated by the Communication Foundation for Asia, the contest aims to inspire the youth and their communities to think and undertake simple and practical projects that could help mitigate the effects and impact of climate change.

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