Haiyan (Yolanda) in the Philippines – A Chronicle of Events

Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), has left a mark in the history of the Philippines.

Like many others, I can think of a thousand things to say about what happened. The problem with having an opinion however, is that someone is always ready to aggressively attack you because of it. Since there is no absolute fact in an opinion, no one can be proven entirely in the right.

This is why I shall keep my personal thoughts here at a minimum and focus instead on documenting notable facts, events and controversies that unfolded as a result of the calamity.

About Haiyan / Yolanda

Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, is the strongest typhoon to have hit the planet in 2013. According to CNN, it is perhaps one of the strongest in recorded history registering sustained winds of 315 kph and gusts as strong as 380 kph and is the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane. The super typhoon generated a storm surge as high as 20 feet, flooding some parts of the Visayas including Leyte and Eastern Samar.

The typhoon made landfall in various parts of the Philippines six times on November 8, 2013:

• Guiuan, Eastern Samar (4:40 am)
• Tolosa, Leyte (7:00 am)
• Daanbantayan, Cebu (9:40 am)
• Bantayan Island, Cebu (10:40 am)
• Concepcion Iloilo (12 nn)
• Busuanga, Palawan (8:00 pm)

Why the Philippines is Calamity Prone

Haiyan came less than a month after the October 15, 2013 7.2 magnitude earthquake that shook and badly damaged the provinces of Bohol and Cebu. Quite a number of individuals took to various social networks citing the wrath of God over an idol worshiping Catholic nation.

It is important to note that there are scientific explanations to why the Philippines is prone to natural disasters. The Philippines is situated in the Pacific Ring of Fire where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common. A map of active Philippine faults, faults that have been around long before Christianity reached our shores, also implies that what happened to Bohol had nothing to do with religious preferences.

As to typhoons, the Philippines is on the edge of the Pacific Ocean where typhoons often form because of the availability of warm water.

Climate Change

The World Meteorological Organization ranks 2013 as the seventh warmest year since 1850 and is likely due to global warming. Although there is still no definite proof that warmer seas cause stronger typhoons, it has become an assumption that this might be the case.

In the video below, Yeb Sano, Philippine representative to the UN conference on climate change in Warsaw, Poland appealed for action against climate change.

Typhoon Casualty and Damage Report

As of November 24, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported:

• 5,235 individuals dead
• 23,501 injured
• 1,613 missing
• 2,160,576 families / 10,013,467 individuals affected
• 3,455,336 individuals displaced
• 44 provinces, 575 municipalities and 57 cities affected
• 1,130,406 houses damaged
• Damage to infrastructure amounting to Php 11,957,880,034
• Damage to agriculture amounting to Php 10,701,971,349.76

Disaster Preparedness

The number of casualties has brought to the forefront the question of disaster preparedness. Were local government units prepared enough for it and could they have done more?

At least one story demonstrates the importance of taking extreme measures to prepare for an impending disaster. All the residents of Tulang Diyot, a tiny island between Leyte and Cebu survived despite the destruction of 991 houses on the island.

Alfredo Arquillano, former mayor of the neighboring town of San Francisco reportedly spearheaded the evacuation of the island’s roughly 1,000 residents.

The question of preparation however, becomes complicated when one considers having to do this on a larger scale. Take Tacloban for example. According to its city officials, they prepared as best as they could, asking residents to move into evacuation centers. Both aerial and land footage of the aftermath in Tacloban show however, that residents would have been hard pressed to find safe evacuation zones. Reports also later revealed that even some of the designated evacuation centers were destroyed, killing some of the evacuees.

Preventing casualties in Tacloban would have meant evacuating 221,174 people out of the island of Leyte. Suffice to say, this would have been a logistically challenging task.

If Haiyan hit the United States, could they have prepared? CNN’s Tom Foreman weighs in here.

Historical Records

Much of the destruction brought about by Haiyan is attributed to the storm surges that came with it. A storm surge happens when strong typhoon winds push the surface of the sea causing an abnormal rise in water which can then move inland. Local media reports suggest that while many prepared to brace for the strength of the typhoon, the nature of storm surges and the possibility of them happening may not have been fully understood.

Researchers and historians have been quick to point out now the importance of looking into historical records. In a TV interview, climate change expert Carlos Primo David mentioned suggested that as early as 1660, a Jesuit priest may have already reported the occurrence of a storm surge.

One more account now making the rounds in social media is the October 1897 typhoon which hit Leyte bringing with it a “tidal wave”. One report says 7,000 died, “many being drowned by the rush of water”. Tacloban, much like today, was reportedly reduced to ruins in less than thirty minutes.

In November 30, 1912, The Washington Herald reported of another destructive typhoon. Although there was no mention of a storm surge, the typhoon reportedly “swept the Visayas and is said to have practically destroyed Tacloban, the capital of Leyte, and to have wrought enormous damage and loss of life at Capiz, the capital of the province of Capiz”. Casualties may have reached 15,000.

Information Dissemination

In the typhoon’s aftermath, one other nagging question was whether our weather forecasters were able to thoroughly inform the public of Haiyan’s strength before it hit land.

As early as November 4, television news broadcasts already warned of the impending approach of Haiyan. Even before it reached its terrifying peak, forecasters predicted its strength could go over 200 kph. By November 7, signal number 4 had been raised in parts of the Visayas. It was also on this day that President Aquino took to national TV to emphasize the seriousness of the danger posed by Haiyan. It was in this same statement that the president mentioned the threat of storm surges.

Before the president’s statement, Project Noah under PAGASA-DOST already released a list of storm surge prone areas and was even able to predict the height of the storm surges. The question then and now however, is whether people were told what could happen.

Secretary Mario Montejo admitted they could have fallen short in relaying the seriousness and urgency of what was to come.

Relief Operations Controversy

The relief, retrieval and clearing operations that followed Haiyan has been clouded by controversy with the Aquino government largely criticized for its slow, disorganized action; one that had been picked up by the media. Understandably, international media had been more critical. Perhaps one of the more widely circulated statements is that of CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

“As for who exactly is in charge of the Philippine side of this operation, that is not really clear… I’m just surprised that I haven’t… I expected on this day five… I thought I’d maybe gotten here very late that things would be well in hand. It does not seem like that. People are desperate. People do not have any place for shelter… It’s very difficult for people to get food. Neighbors are helping out neighbours. Water is in short supply. It is a very, very bad situation here…”

Difficulties of Relief Distribution

How difficult was it to mount relief operations? As if in response to the criticism, Aquino pointed out that relief was delayed in the first place because the system failed.

In the Philippines, local government units are tasked with providing initial relief to give the national government time to mobilize. This is perhaps the ideal arrangement because the Philippines is made up of thousands of islands and relief operations by the national government would be logistically challenging in any calamity.

The problem in the areas that were hardest hit was that local officials and staff had been severely affected as well. Among the local police in Tacloban for example, only 20 out of 290 were able to report for duty.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development also mentioned that relief goods were prepositioned which is perhaps why Aquino, in his televised address to the nation, was confident enough to say that relief would come immediately after the typhoon. Many of these prepared goods however, were said to have been washed away.

The challenges of relief distribution were compounded by other difficulties. Leyte and Samar are islands where a steady flow of relief could not come in because the small airport in Tacloban was also damaged, refuelling stations for relief trucks were damaged, and the Philippines only has three C130s for the transport of goods and people. Read this anonymous letter from a Filipino executive for a more complete explanation.

All these points strongly suggest however, that the government may have truly underestimated Haiyan and was caught off guard.

Rapid Action

Whether the explanations of the complexity of relief operations are acceptable or not is now for the public to decide. It is worth noting however, that some government units moved faster than others.

Information from online articles, video interviews and Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s own Facebook page show that the mayor deployed a rescue and medical team to Tacloban as early as Saturday. The team reportedly arrived Sunday afternoon and got to work on Monday.

In an interview, Duterte said that when he saw the news on Friday and Saturday, he told the Davaoenos that they had to help.

Incidentally, Duterte’s interview (in Bisaya) gave more clues to the situation in Tacloban.

• He was of the opinion that what was needed then was not just a state of calamity but a state of emergency.
• Even if people wanted to seek shelter, Tacloban is a flat piece of land and there was nowhere to run.
• DILG Secretary Mar Roxas and DND Secretary Volaire Gazmin were there all along all the time but…
• The entire city was decimated. Duterte said, “There is no Tacloban City right now.”
• If a super typhoon hit Davao City, Duterte has an evacuation plan in mind and would force residents to evacuate.

Duterte’s statements leave is with two important questions to ponder on:

• Could the national government or other local government units have done what Duterte did? Clearly, we all wish they could have or at least tried to.
• Could leaders with a greater sense of urgency and more foresight, intuition and firmness have done better before and after the disaster?

Media in the Spotlight

Reporter Atom Araullo’s popularity probably shot a notch up when a video of his daring typhoon coverage made the rounds in social media.

Although undoubtedly brave, Araullo’s act brought to light questions on the boundaries of media. Should reporters risk their lives for a story and is any story worth their lives? Are the risks they take calculated or are they just the lucky ones to be alive after being in the thick of a dangerous situation? More importantly, is it acceptable now for people to expect the media to take greater risks?

Aside from Araullo, other local media personalities have had a share of the spotlight. Ted Failon was criticized for having implied that Salvacio Avestruz, a PAGASA weather forecaster died because most PAGASA personnel do not know what a storm surge is. The forecaster’s colleagues have replied saying Avestruz died because she performed her duty. Failon has since apologized.

It was Korina Sanchez however, who probably took home the title for most controversial media personality. In response to Anderson Cooper’s initial report on the disorganized relief operations, Sanchez remarked, “This Anderson Cooper. He said there was no government presence in Tacloban. It seems he doesn’t know what he is saying.” It was for these statements that Sanchez came under fire in various social media networks.

Cooper issued a statement clarifying what he actually said and urging Sanchez to go to Tacloban. Cooper of course, did not forget to mention that Sanchez is the wife of DILG secretary Mar Roxas.

Politics at Play

Politics unavoidably became part of the events that unfolded after the typhoon. Aquino remarked that Tacloban did not seem as prepared as other areas, thereby almost criticizing Tacloban’s local officials. The mayor of Tacloban is a Romualdez, a relative of Imelda Marcos, wife of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. It is common knowledge that the Aquino clan is still largely at odds with the Marcos family.

Aquino himself has not escaped direct criticism. Perhaps the most scathing of all statements against Aquino came from movie director Peque Gallaga who wrote:

“So what now? There’s nothing I can actually do. I can only rage, rage against the dying of common decency. I can only rage against this man who claimed in a Christian Amanpour interview that he couldn’t get to the disaster areas because the weather after the storm left didn’t permit him to fly. This is 24 hours after the sun was shining all over the Philippines by then. I can only rage against a man who made light of the tragedy, refusing to identify it as a major disaster; who made light of a victim of looting who was shot at by telling him, “But you did not die, right?” I rage against a man who continually blames the LGU’s on the ground for their incompetence and their inefficiency because it is beginning to dawn on me that these Visayan LGU’s happen to be Romualdez people and this man is playing politics with people’s lives.”

Read Gallaga’s open letter in full here.

In another story, Vice President Jejomar Binay drew flak when a photo of relief goods that bore his seal started circulating on Facebook and Twitter.

Netizens compared this to a photo of the Davao rescue team send to Tacloban standing beside a bus labelled City Government of Davao and without the name of Duterte.

Plan for Rehabilitation

One of the first rehabilitation plans which surfaced a week after Haiyan hit is from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The action plan can be found here.

On November 19, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General Arsenio Balisacan announced the drafting of a unified rehabilitation plan stressing the need for a well coordinated plan of action.

Countries Help

There has been a massive outpouring of international aid to the Philippines. To date, total foreign aid has reached more than 14 billion pesos. The full report can be found at the Foreign Aid Transparency Hub page. For this, we will be forever grateful.

Updated total donations as of November 22, 2013 (11:23 AM) (Source: gov.ph) pic.twitter.com/jCDUcZXwWn

— Manila Bulletin News (@manila_bulletin) November 22, 2013