Typhoon Nona devastation: Northern Samar people appealing for assistance

CEBU, Philippines – Typhoon Nona on December 14 had devastated almost 90 percent of Northern Samar province, leaving about 65,000 families homeless and lacking of food, potable water, basic commodities and clothing, among others, prompting them to air their appeal for assistance from all sectors.

Although still subject to validation, there were nine reported deaths,10 missing and 622 injured individuals in the wake of Nona, and the surviving victims had raised their pleas, through the social media, for help.

“We ask you to give and share what you can. My kababayan out there are in dire need of everyone’s help and support. Let’s not wait on the government to feed all the hungry and shelter the homeless. Northern Samar is one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines, development has been slow for ages now. Let’s make sure help and support this time around will be faster,” said a post on Facebook from one man now working abroad but his family was among the victims in Northern Samar.

President Benigno Aquino III on Friday had declared a state of national calamity to hasten the rescue, recovery, relief and rehabilitation efforts, after Nona laid waste on the provinces of Albay, Northern Samar, Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, and Sorsogon

National government agencies, such as the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, together with some local and provincial governments in Eastern Visayas had started bringing in relief goods to Northern Samar, but the people said these were not enough so far.

On Wednesday, the Philippine Army and the PNP flew into Catarman, the capital town, with generators, tarpaulins and DSWD food packs, but then there were many more towns, equally devastated or even worse, that were unreached so far.

In Batag Island, north off Laoang town where Nona had its first landfall, almost all of its houses in six barangays were flattened to the ground, and people there were desperate already for food, clothing and places to sleep on.

Governor Jose Ong Jr. yesterday was reportedly in Laoang, the most ravaged area of the province, to oversee relief and rehabilitation efforts there, but people said the province still needs more help from the outside.

Local government units from Samar and Leyte provinces had already sent hundreds of bags of rice and food packs to Catarman and some towns in Northern Samar, which is one of the country’s poorest provinces.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said 117,788 families from all of the 569 barangays of the 24 municipalities were affected by Nona, which the Northern Samarnons said was the strongest that ever hit the province since. Damages to infrastructure were estimated at more than P1.37 million, while loses to agriculture reached more than P230 million.

Electricity is still out to this day, with authorities saying that it might be until next year that this will be restored, although the provincial government promised to have it in Catarman before Christmas day.

Communication network signals have been restored, but only in Catarman and Bobon towns, while only two banks had so far resumed operations, resulting in long queues of withdrawals from people who wait for two hours for their turn.

In Catarman, particularly, there were food to buy from the market but then these were were grossly overpriced, and the LGU could not do something about it, at least for now when it is preoccupied with relief efforts. Even the prices of housing materials had soared to heights that the less financially able could no longer afford.

The supply of potable water may come from existing pumps, but the people said this comes out dirty and possibly contaminated.

The Our Lady of Perpetual Help Mission Chapel at Barangay Dalakit in Catarman, which was still under construction with funds from donations, was pummeled to the ground by the typhoon. Even the newly built mall was destroyed. — Contributed by Rhia de Pablo Aleria