Filipinos use Facebook to seek help
Play
Others flood radio stations, govt offices with phone calls after typhoon devastation
Visayans desperately seeking help and word from loved ones in areas ravaged by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” used social networking sites to ask for information.
Others flooded radio stations and government offices with phone calls.
One of them was a Cebu Port Authority (CPA) employee who used his Facebook account to ask for help for victims in Sta Fe town, Bantayan Island.
“People are hungry and some are ransacking retail stores to find food they can eat. Bantayan and Sta Fe towns are badly hit and destroyed by Yolanda’s gruesome force. No power. Island in total darkness,” wrote Richard Go Batiquin, a CPA employee in the town.
His status was accompanied by photos that showed the devastation in Sta Fe, one of the three towns that constitute Bantayan Island in northern Cebu province. The two others are Bantayan and Madridejos.
“Sta Fe’s helpless fate after Yolanda’s attack. We NEED HELP ASAP! This may be our last and only chance to post if Internet signal is still working. No water. No food. All road access filled with fallen debris. Literally unpassable by commute. It is total chaos,” his other post read.
A total of 15 people interacted with Batiquin to express worry on the condition of their relatives on Bantayan Island.
When reached by the Inquirer, Batiquin said he used his cellular phone that had an Internet connection to inform the public about their situation in Sta Fe.
He said he had to save his battery because there was no power supply on the island. “We are asking for help because we have no water and food here. The stores were ransacked by some people here just to eat,” he added in Cebuano.
He said some of their neighbours had stayed in the chapel while others just looked for anything that had a roof to stay under. Batiquin said he was staying in the CPA office in Sta Fe but the passenger terminal was also damaged.
Manny Cabahug posted on Facebook about an initiative by Madridejos residents in the Philippines and abroad to organise “Bangon Lawis”. Madridejos town is referred to as Lawis by its residents.
In Tabogon town, Cebu, some children were seen carrying posters on the road, seeking help. “We need food and water,” one poster read.
In Iloilo, people, especially those residing in other provinces and abroad, posted appeals and called radio stations seeking information about their relatives, particularly those in northern Iloilo, northern Antique, Capiz and Aklan provinces.
Many areas were still cut off from communication and were without electricity.Those who were able to tell their stories recounted how the intensity of the typhoon stunned residents despite days of preparation and anticipation.
“It looked like the iron roofings were being easily rolled up and thrown away,” Edward Basilonia, chief of the Capiz provincial press bureau, described how the strong winds hit Roxas City. Capiz was among the worst-hit areas in Panay.
In the capital town of Kalibo in Aklan, residents of Laserna Street along the Aklan River evacuated early on Thursday to Aklan College. The residents, mostly living in houses made of light materials, prayed and huddled together as the strong winds lashed the town.
“Even inside the school, we could feel the thunderous wind,” Kim-sin Tugna said.
Swept by flood
Mary Grace Nagrama, who had evacuated, found her house swept by floodwater after it was destroyed by strong winds. “We don’t know how to rebuild our house because we have no money,” Nagrama, the second of five siblings, told the Inquirer.
Most of the ruined houses were made of light materials but even the concrete and steel-framed ones were damaged. “This exempts no one,” said Capiz Governor Victor Tanco.
While tens of thousands stayed in evacuation centres or with neighbours and relatives, others found whatever place they felt safe in to save themselves from the storm’s onslaught.
