‘Yolanda’: the way forward

“The mountains are turning green,” several survivors of “Yolanda” told counselors visiting Tacloban from Manila. The “greening” mountains were seen as signs of hope and a brighter future, at least according to Imelda “Emy” Villar, a psychologist and a sister at TOWNS Foundation.

“To them this signifies hope since what they saw all around them in the wake of the typhoon were all black and brown,” Emy relates in a letter to friends and colleagues. Indeed, she observes, things are looking up for Tacloban and environs, even if so far the signs are still tentative. Quite a number of foreign groups have responded to the great need, with some groups, including the Tzu Tzi Foundation, giving out cash grants to survivor families helping in the cleanup and rehabilitation work.

Already, some stores have opened, while private companies, including the Gokongwei Group and Divine Word Hospital, have housed their employees even if work has been suspended for now. “Many have reported learning to care and share and to live simpler lives,” Emy writes.

But there are disheartening observations. While the survivors all say they want to rebuild, Emy says, they do not have the materials, “especially roofing, which they need most as they still get wet when it rains.” Also very much needed: “carpentry tools to hasten their work.”

As for the survivors’ mental and emotional condition, Emy observes that “there is still great fear of the recurrence of the calamity, especially because rumors are spreading of a tsunami.” Another source of uneasiness and fear is lawlessness, especially criminal elements who still ransack homes for whatever they can get. At the same time, so many families lost members, with many still sunk in grief because the dead are still unidentified and they have no way of knowing what happened to their missing kin.

In all, says Emy, “a lot of help is still needed.” To those wishing to help, she recommends sending any form of help to Divine Word Hospital in Tacloban through St. Scholastica’s College.

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Among the victims of Yolanda, older people made up a disproportionately high number of the dead. HelpAge International, with its local partner, the Coalition of Services of the Elderly (Cose), says that close to 40 percent of those killed by the supertyphoon were over 60 years old, despite the fact that this age group makes up only 8 percent of the general population in the worst affected areas.

“We have to think about what older people need in an emergency, and more importantly, we should be asking them to tell us,” says Toby Porter of HelpAge International. Porter observes that older people “are often extremely vulnerable after disasters, especially those with disabilities, reduced mobility and poor health. When older people do decide to flee, they face risks, including the possibility of being separated from family and friends.”

Working on its principle of “older people helping older people,” Cose and HelpAge, with the Confederation of Older People’s Associations in the Philippines (Copap), are working together to provide psychosocial support to traumatized older people and other vulnerable groups. The first of its peer counseling desks is now operational at the Ormoc District Hospital. But, these groups warn, the needs of older people in the affected areas are continuing and growing, since they must cope with poverty, lack of family support, and chronic diseases. A more systematic, proactive approach is needed to respond to the needs of this overlooked group of survivors.

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And now, moving forward.

On his own initiative, architect and urban planner Felino “Jun” Palafox traveled to Tacloban with a team of architects and engineers to assess the needs of the affected areas as we enter the period of rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Among his observations, Palafox says, is that the type of structures (concrete, with roof decks, four-sided sloping roofs, built perpendicular or diagonal to the shoreline to “slice” wind gustiness) is important. From an aerial survey, he observes that “round, oval or diamond shapes are the best shapes for structures near the shoreline because the aerodynamic shape lowers the impact of strong winds.”

He also recommends a wider setback of at least 50 meters from the shoreline, “plus a vertical clearance of at least two meters above flood lines for livable floors.”

“Harmonious and orderly collaboration among the private and public sector, international agencies, and other nongovernment organizations” is necessary, Palafox stresses. A feasibility study needs to be done right away, he says, to find a new location for Tacloban’s urban center as most public infrastructure had been built on low-lying areas and thus damaged by the winds and storm surge.

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And still on Yolanda: “Goodness Rising,” a campaign to raise funds to build a Gawad Kalinga Village for 100 families was recently launched, with 100 percent of the profits from all products sold in a day at the Human Nature flagship store turned over to fund the village.

Other fund-raising projects have been held, with Human Nature employees giving all or part of their 13th month pay and other bonuses to Goodness Rising.

Those interested in taking part in this endeavor can choose from any number of ways: buying Human Nature’s House Origami Greeting Cards (for P500, you can get your own design with the name of a relative or friend on a plaque to be displayed at the village); organize your own fund-raisers such as garage sales, movie nights, village bazaars, poetry readings, etc.; and follow Human Nature on social media to keep up to date on developments.