The buzz on the streets and on social media is the focus on Tacloban,
Leyte when vast areas and many other towns and provinces have been
ravaged by super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). This seems unfair to other
cities and municipalities considering Yolanda made 6 landfalls at or
near peak strength (as a Category 5 typhoon) with winds topping 225 kph
and generating destructive storm surges as it hammered through the
central Philippines.
If you have Facebook, one provincial government staff has posted a lot of photos describing the situation in the northern towns of Iloilo
where the destruction caused by the typhoon is very clear and to many,
still unimaginable. These photos along with all others that can be
Googled, Yahooed or found via other search engines or news agencies show
the extent of the damage brought about by Yolanda.
Some people say that the islands of Cebu, Panay, Negros and Mindoro
are fortunate as principal cities in those islands like Cebu City,
Iloilo City, Bacolod City, Dumaguete City and Calapan City were
relatively undamaged. This is also true, and so the airports and ports
in these cities provide direct access to the islands for relief work.
Moreover, government agencies and private entities have been able to
organize relief activities through these cities and based on various
news reports, it looks like a lot of people are already involved in
these activities. That goes without saying that more people are still
needed to be involved in various capacities for relief, rehabilitation
and reconstruction work that are expected to be undertaken over a longer
term considering the extent of the damages to towns. But given the
circumstances for the said islands, there is no excuse for more rapid
aid not being able to reach the affected towns in these provinces. In
fact, much more is expected where accessibility is no longer an issue
and so faster recovery is possible for Panay, Negros, Cebu and Mindoro.
In the cases of Cebu and Bohol, it is important to remember that the
provinces already are also still reeling from the impacts of the
Magnitude 7.2 earthquake that occurred only a few weeks ago.
On another note…Tacloban Airport is still closed to commercial
aircraft but the land routes via RORO or the nautical highways are open
to traffic or operational. I think the quickest way to Leyte is via the
route from Cebu. There are regular RORO and Supercat services
between Cebu City and Ormoc City in Leyte. There are other maritime
transport services from Bogo City in northern Cebu but I am not sure
those services are back to normal. Then there are also access via the
Eastern Nautical Route via the Bicol Region and crossing over to Samar
Island (Allen) via Matnog, Sorsogon. Many roads still need to be cleared
but the main highway (Pan Philippine Highway) including the San Juanico
Bridge that connects the islands of Samar and Leyte.
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