TYPHOON AFTERMATH

Jan. 23, 2016

Who would ever forget that day when Typhoon Nona unleashed its wrath on December 14, 2015, devastating the entire region of Northern Samar and rendering 90% of the population with totally damaged homes and structures? It was all over the news on TV, newspaper and social media after the typhoon.

This December 14, 2015 NASA satellite image shows Typhoon Melor 
over the Philippines. Melor brushed the northern tip of Samar, a 
farming island of 1.5 million people, early December 14 with winds 
gusting up to 185 kilometres (115 miles) per hour, the state weather 
bureau said. AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / NASA

http://www.mb.com.ph/nona-destroys-65000-houses-in-northern-samar/ 

December 14, 2015 at 11:00 AM

Made a phone call to my son who is based in UEP while the typhoon was currently unleashing its wrath all over the island. I called him again after one hour but there was no answer, then again and again.  At 7:00 PM his cellular phone's service was already cut off. Two days later I was able to contact him. There, I learned the extensive damage caused by Nona. Thanked God, nobody in my family was hurt.

December 20, 2015

Right after the last day of classes ended for the Christmas vacation, I hastily went to my hometown to actually see the effects of typhoon Nona to my family and to CS farm, my second home....and these I'd witnessed...

 One-fourth of the roof was blown away about one kilometer from 
the main house onto the beach.

The men while figuring out and assessing the damage 

of the roofing.

 Shattered glass sliding windows, falling debris all over 

the second floor of the main house.

Twisted metals, broken window glass, wood and 

insulator debris, scattered pillows and mattresses

Insulator ripped off from the roofing and torn into pieces.

The sun shining through the attic's roof. 

 One of the kayaks submerged in the pond and covered with 

mud.

One of the uprooted coconut trees lies on the ground.

This was once a homey “sawali” cottage. Roof 

and walls no more but the comfort room.

The restoration of the farm and its structures will definitely take a long time considering the time, efforts and money involved, but for sure, the spirit and the faith of moving forward will not banish no matter how hard it will be.

 As what Tupac Shakur had said about moving on.....

“You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could've, would've happened... or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and move the fuck on.”

Typhoon Ruby in 2014

Before Nona, there had been three typhoons that visited the area leaving our garden partially damaged. Plots of petchay, bell pepper, spring onions, tomatoes, eggplants, and ginger survived the devastation of typhoon. but the banana trees were badly damaged. 

Pechay

Spring onions

Bell pepper

Newly planted pechay

Eggplants

Tomatoes

Ginger

Banana trees