by Zoe Daniel
4 November The system intensifies and heads west towards Palau. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) upgrades the system to a tropical storm, naming it Haiyan.
5 November Haiyan is reclassified as a typhoon when winds increase to 120 km per hour. It is forecasted to make landfall in the Philippines.
6 November Typhoon Haiyan pounds Palau with sustained winds up to 295 km per hour. The JMA again upgrades Haiyan, this time to a super typhoon, stronger than a category five hurricane. Super Typhoon Haiyan continues to move westwards, swelling to more than 800 km in diameter.
7 November Super Typhoon Haiyan intensifies again before it enters the Philippine region, where it is referred to as Super Typhoon Yolanda.
8 November 04:40 PST (Philippine Standard Time) Super Typhoon Yolanda makes initial landfall in the Philippines at the city of Guiuan on the island of Samar in the Eastern Visayas region. With maximum sustained winds of up to 314 km per hour, it is described as the strongest tropical storm to make landfall at peak strength in recorded world history.
08:00 PST (approx.) Super Typhoon Yolanda slams eastern Samar and Leyte. Tacloban City, with a population of 220 000, bears the full force of winds in excess of 298 km per hour and violent storm surges up to approximately 5 m. Tacloban City and coastal barangays are flattened, power and communications are cut, roads are blocked and air and sea ports suffer severe damage.
By late afternoon, Super Typhoon Yolanda’s eye is over northern Panay, central Philippines. Later in the evening it moves into the South China Sea as winds reduce to less than 233 km per hour. Super Typhoon Yolanda is reclassified as a typhoon.
10 November Super Typhoon Yolanda further weakens, making landfall in north-east Vietnam, eventually dissipating over Guangxi in southern China.
The Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) confirms at least 1774 deaths, mainly in the Eastern Visayas.
11 November President Benigno Aquino III declares a state of national calamity. In Tacloban City 24 000 family food packs are distributed, while 18.7 billion Philippine pesos (PHP) is allocated for emergency relief. Twenty-two foreign countries including the United States, Australia, Canada and Japan pledge millions of dollars in humanitarian aid as international TV crews continue to arrive in the country.
The Philippine National Police deploy 883 personnel, including Special Action Forces, to Tacloban City, and the rest of the Eastern Visayas. The government responds to reports of looting by deploying police reinforcements and a 500-member military battalion. The devastated Tacloban airport is set up as an aid hub with a makeshift hospital. Hundreds of Taclobanons line up at the airport hoping to secure passage on the military cargo planes that begin the relief effort.
12 November The United Nations (UN) releases US$20 million in emergency funds as the USS George Washington aircraft carrier with 5000 crew heads to the region to desalinate water. The UN and the Department of Foreign Affairs launch an action plan to rehabilitate the 40-plus affected provinces. In Tacloban City, the government sends in armoured vehicles, sets up checkpoints and imposes a curfew to help curtail looting.
The crippled Tacloban City airport struggles to accommodate large cargo planes although some military helicopters begin ferrying water and food. The response is severely hampered by lack of infrastructure and fuel, and government logistical issues.
13 November International news agencies report the government’s response efforts have been slow and delayed. Streams of evacuees and road damage hinder aid trucks entering the city. Damage in outlying regions is unable to be assessed.
Japan donates US$10 million in aid and sends relief troops. A civilian medical team arrives from Australia and Australia upgrades its donation to AUD$30 million.
President Benigno Aquino III commits to the delivery of 50 000 relief packs every few days due to the magnitude of the devastation. The death toll rises to 2275. More than 9 million people have been affected across a large swath of the country. Ninety per cent of homes in the hardest-hit areas have been destroyed. Relief goods accumulate at airports, and foreign and local medical teams and relief workers are also stranded as outlying areas remain unsupported.
The UN launches a global appeal with US$25 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund being made available. The Royal Australian Air Force arrives at Cebu, delivering a portable field hospital destined for Tacloban City.
14 November The George Washington strike group, with six ships and 21 helicopters, arrives in the Eastern Visayas.
Six days after the storm, the inadequate airport clinic is one of the few relief centres. Medical supplies are scant with most people still without water and food. Aid continues to pile up at the airport. International news crews report seeing little evidence of any large-scale organised relief effort. The NDRRMC’s official death toll climbs to 2357 with 3853 injured and 77 missing. Of the 40 towns in Leyte, 20 remain without communications.
15 November The NDRRMC reports the death toll is 3621 with 1140 missing and 12 165 injured as millions of people wait for aid to arrive. Initial estimates of damage to agriculture, fisheries and irrigation infrastructure reach more than PHP7 billion. In Tacloban City, 90% of school buildings are damaged.
16 November The UN estimates about 12 million people have been affected as mass-grave burials begin. Total damage costs rise to PHP9.46 billion. The government finally decides to airdrop relief goods to remote barangays.
A Bloomberg report forecasts economic loss to be approximately US$15 billion, making Super Typhoon Yolanda one of the most expensive disasters in Philippine history.
17 November Some relief goods finally reach all 40 towns in Leyte. The president revisits Tacloban City to oversee relief operations. The damage toll exceeds PHP10 billion as the death toll climbs to 3 976 with 18 175 people reported injured and 1 590 missing.
21 November Australia’s National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre sends a team of 37 personnel to relieve the critical response crew based in a 50-bed field hospital at the Tacloban airport. Huge logistical issues continue to surround infrastructure, water sanitation, power and housing, hampering widespread relief efforts, particularly in remote areas.
23 November The official death toll exceeds 5 200. Super Typhoon Yolanda is considered to be the deadliest disaster in Philippine history. Over 14 million people across more than 40 provinces have been affected. Tacloban City suffers the greatest loss of life. Five hundred thousand houses have been destroyed and at least 580 000 have suffered severe damage. More than 1.9 million people are believed to be homeless and more than 6 million displaced. The major rice- and sugar-producing areas of the Philippines have been destroyed.
May 2014 Public access to shelter and water is still limited. Major aid agencies including the International Red Cross continue the relief effort. The NDRRMC estimates approximately 6 000 people have died, and records US$184 million in damages to infrastructure in the Eastern Visayas. Save the Children estimates 4 million children and adults have been displaced.
8 November 2014 The first anniversary of the disaster is commemorated in Tacloban with the planting of 2300 white crosses in memory of those buried in the city and outskirts. Hundreds protest in Tacloban City and in the capital Manila at the lack of reconstruction progress.
Two and a half million people remain in temporary shelters with 100 000 residing in coastal areas officially declared unsafe. In Samar province, only 85 of 634 official evacuation shelters remain intact.
2015 Thousands of Filipinos continue to live in temporary shelters or tent cities with inadequate services and employment opportunities despite the government’s ‘Build Back Better’ initiative. According to the economic planning secretary, recovery and reconstruction efforts continue to be hampered by implementation bottlenecks, contradictory policies and bureaucratic weaknesses.
2016 Tacloban’s iconic Santo Niño Church has been repaired and a substantial relocation program is underway to rehouse coastal dwellers in safer areas
in the north of the city, but tens of thousands of Taclobanons continue to live in areas designated as ‘no dwelling zones’. Vice President Leni Robredo admits that only about 1% of the 205 000 homes pledged have been constructed. Water supply remains a problem but plans are underway to expedite supply to Tacloban’s relocated township.
Taclobanons’ livelihoods are severely compromised as employment opportunities are scarce in the new communities and people have resorted to traditional occupations that offer very little return.
2017 President Rodrigo Duterte orders government offices to complete the transfer of 14 433 Yolanda-hit families out of coastal communities and into resettlement sites with permanent housing by March.
2017–2018 The Eastern Visayas has shown significant growth but is still one of the poorest regions in the Philippines. Communities attend disaster risk–reduction training sessions and community evacuation drills led by NGOs such as Save the Children in an effort to increase resilience and preparedness in the face of impending disasters.
Glossary
anak ko little one
ayo come on
baduya nga pasayan shrimp fritters
bangka boat
banig mat
bantay guard, a common name for dogs in the Philippines
barangay neighbourhood; the smallest administrative division in the Philippines
Basta ang Waray, hindi uurong sa away ‘Waray people never back down from a fight’ – a popular saying
corioso butter cookies
idoy young man
jeepney small bus or truck with a long bench down each side for passengers
kuya big brother
lumpia Filipino spring roll
mano sir
marasa delicious
maupay nga gab-i good evening
padayon an kinabuhi life goes on
pancit noodles
pangaon kita let’s eat
peso Philippine currency
pulisya police
salamat thank you
swerte good luck
taklub basket trap used to catch fish and shellfish
trumpo spinning top toy
waray sapayan you’re welcome
Waray-waray regional language spoken in Tacloban and Samar
Find out more about …
Super Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda
https://youtube.com
Search for ‘Tacloban before and after Typhoon Yolanda’
(Warning: contains distressing footage)
https//www.britannica.com
Search for ‘Super Typhoon Haiyan’
www.bbc.com
Search for ‘Typhoon Haiyan: Before and after the storm’
www.abc.net.au
Search for ‘The World Today: Survivors describe scenes that are “worse than hell”’
International relief effort
www.abc.net.au
Search for ‘Typhoon Haiyan: Field hospital’
https://youtube.com
Search for ‘International medical teams aid Haiyan victims’
Recovery and reconstruction
www.caritas.org.au/haiyan
www.irinnews.org
Search for ‘Philippines has built only 1% of homes promised after Typhoon Haiyan’
www.youtube.com
Search for ‘Tacloban Philippines’
Acknowledgements
With thanks to Sol Vanzi who bravely worked with our crew during our time in Tacloban City and generously advised me on cultural and language aspects of this manuscript. Thank you to cameraman David Leland who worked tirelessly with me covering the typhoon under difficult circumstances, and colleagues Stephen McDonell and Wayne McAllister who flew in to provide backup.
My deepest admiration goes to the people of Tacloban City who remained so strong in the face of such devastation. I will never forget your strength of character.
