A Tale of Yolanda: Bangon, Mary Lot!

We have heard and read about so many harrowing experiences of the victims of Yolanda. But nothing can prepare you if you hear it first hand from a family member, or a good friend. Ever since the world knew what happened to Leyte, I had been worried about the only person I know from Tacloban. She was my colleague at Aboitiz, Cebu where I spent my first couple of years as a worker. She was more than just a co-worker to me—she was our department’s mother hen; she was the one who paved the way to lead the hubby to me; she was a dear, dear friend.

Circa 1992. And they call us THE Audit girls: Jennet, Me, Marivic, Maricon, and Mary Lot.

Let me tell you some snippets of Mary Lot's story.

November 7-The calm before the storm

"When the super typhoon was announced by media sources, people in the coastal areas were asked to evacuate by our Mayor two days before. Some followed. Some didn't. For those who followed, they either went to the Tacloban Astrodome or to the nearby elementary school. They were banking on the concrete walls of these buildings. For those who refused evacuation, the Mayor went back to them again and again to remind them to be in a safer place. Others just stayed behind to guard their properties.

Unfortunately, these building structures were near the coastal area, so the evacuees in them perished."

          Tacloban City Convention Center or to the locals, the Astrodome           Photo by IGCacnio

Photo by IGCacnio

"A day before it hit the city, I went to the bank and passed by the Astrodome. I chanced looking at the sea, and I saw nothing. It was like the sea dried up. I even saw some fishermen picking up some shells and crabs on the shore where the sea was supposed to be. I suddenly felt very afraid."

"It was even sunny the day before. Some people were already dismissing how strong the typhoon would really be. However, I felt it was eerily quiet in Tacloban. Yes, there was the usual hum of the traffic, but the sea, the sky and the wind seem to not want to make a sound."

"People were panic-buying. I joined in the fray, which was unusual for me. I bought so much that my kids even asked me why I purchased a lot. Little did I know that these extra goods will save my family, and my neighbors as well.

November 8 - When Yolanda's wrath struck

"Our house has a second floor--the only one in our village that has one. You see, there is a creek nearby, and our place has always been a catch basin of incessant floods. But we were confident that we would be safe in our home. Everyone with a concrete house thought the same way too. We were all proven wrong."

"This is what was left of our second floor. "                                Photo by MMMendoza

"I heard someone calling my name for help. A neighbor with a baby was calling next door. In my attempt to give them a hand, I opened the door of our house, and water started rushing in. It was just a matter of minutes when our whole first floor was engulfed by the raging water. I wanted to save my neighbor, run to them. But the wave was too much for me to handle. I decided to go back inside the house. It was good that they were able to go up their roof and somehow cross to our house, passing by our fire exit."

"Imagine my neighbors going over our roof to enter our house."               Photo by MMMendoza

"I saw the whole roof of our house fly like it was just cardboard. The air conditioners also flew and banged on the walls of our rooms. With the roof blown away, and the ground floor flooded to the ceiling, we didn't have a choice but to hold on to the railings of our stairs. We could feel the firewall swaying. Strong wind and rain struck our faces like needles. This went on for hours, which seemed like eternity."

"Three times the waves hit us. I was praying to God, if that was our end, then His will be done. There was nothing to do but keep our eyes closed, hold on to each other, and pray."

"This firewall was the only one holding us back from being swept away.

If this crack had given in, we would not have survived."                     Photo by MMMendoza

November 9-Is this the apocalypse?

"The day after the storm, we were all wet, tired, scared, and most of all, hungry. The house was still submerged in dirty water. We were able to retrieve some canned goods and wet rice. We found our LPG tank floating by. We were able to cook rice, but it smelled awful. All the food smelled putrid. We just swallowed them. We didn't have any choice but to eat something."

Dirty water and the stench of dead bodies greeted us.      Photo by MMMendoza

Cooking whatever food we could find in the house, including wet, smelly rice.            Photo by MMMEndoza

"There were five other families who took shelter in our house. We also had to feed them, and give them dry clothes to wear. For two days, we were trapped inside our house. The entrance of our village was blocked by tons of debris. Later, media reported that no one survived in our area. There was no means of communication and transportation to reach us. I realized that for a couple of days, we had been dead to the rest of the world."

                                                                    There was no way out of our subdivision.                                   Photo by MMMendoza

"Sleeping? How could we? With no roof over our head, we were holding umbrellas while trying to steal some shuteye. My husband put a carpet over my kids' heads to protect them from the rain at night. Those were the longest nights I have had in my life. Of course, sleep was nowhere to be found."

Shelter no more.                                                          Photo by MMMendoza

November 10-Survival of the fittest

"Looting? People who have never experienced what we had would never understand how it is to be seeing floating bodies, cars on the rooftop, and destroyed houses all around while your family is craving for food. Small stores opened up their small windows to share food to everyone. The men of each household walked hours just to look for food. I felt sorry that big establishments like Gaisano and Robinsons were ransacked. In times like these, I realized that people would turn rabid if their stomachs have been churning empty for days. I can't justify why some people had to kill too. I can't justify why they had to get televisions and appliances and what nots. But with the local government and police being victims themselves, Tacloban was under a state of confusion and violence. No one was there to watch over us."

"We were isolated from the rest of the world."                              Photo by MMMendoza

November 11 onwards-WHERE do we start? HOW do we start again?

"It was a few days after when we were found by my other siblings. That was also when I found out that five members of our family didn't make it--my adoptive mother, my brother, his kind wife, and their two lovely daughters. Until now, I still don't know how to cope with that thought of losing five family members at the same time. Recalling the story of how they perished always breaks me down."

"Should we stay or should we leave? In my mind, I wanted to clean up the house, and just get on with our lives. It's hard to forget easily though. When I saw both rich and poor people standing in long queues just to get a kilo of rice, when we waited for the rain to fall just to get drinking water, when I see fear in the eyes of my hungry children, I knew I had to give up Tacloban, even for a while."

"A week after, with not enough relief goods and help reaching us, we decided to go to Cebu temporarily, to my in-laws' house. The security situation in Tacloban was not getting any better. We were hearing gun shots at night. We were hearing stories of escaped prisoners raping women. I had to save my four daughters and one son from this madness. Thank goodness for a friend in Cebu Pacific who was able to put us under its priority list. My kids went ahead of my husband and me. We followed them to Cebu two days later."

"While walking to the airport, we saw empty government cars and trucks passing us by. We tried to hitch a ride, but no one bothered to stop for us. I couldn't blame them, we were wearing damp, stinking clothes, and we might have looked like looters or opportunists to them. For more than an hour, with ill-fitting shoes punishing my every step, I mindlessly walked like a zombie. It may have slipped my mind at that time that our government had indeed abandoned us."

"We are now here in Cebu City, with a roof over our heads, and dry clothes on our backs. Still, our minds are gripped with fear and grief. My children still have nightmares. Our hearts mourn for our loved ones who passed away. But yes, we are going back to Tacloban--if not today, if not next week, maybe next month, I'm not yet sure when. As soon as peace and order and a sense of normalcy are established in the city, we are definitely going back. After all, Tacloban is and will always be my only home."

"Happier times with my Mommy and sister-in-law. 

Tacloban is and will always be my only home."                             Photo from MLTMendoza

           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~000~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last Saturday, November 23, I met up with my friend to hand over to her our small financial help. My friend Maricon Libron-Giles and I rounded up a few of our Aboitiz friends and organized a fund drive on Facebook. (This is where FB really comes in handy!) After a week, we were able to gather some financial donation--not much, but it's good enough to push them up. When Mary Lot saw what her old friends have done for their family, she and her husband couldn't help but sob. I cried with them too.

Thanks to the following generous people who immediately responded to my call for help:

Alvin Arco, Melinda Bathan, Joy Paro, Lito Peroramas, Maricon Libron Giles, Brenda Lantaca, Carlos Payot , Herbert Cabatingan, Verti Bullecer, Gloria Rena, Becky Perez, Conching Cabiles, Ces Aboyme, Julie Ann Diongzon, Francis Cabanban, Jo Pabriga, Emma Bria, Viva Canares, Maritess Balbuena, Remy Salares, Eva Abellanosa, Jovy Tan, Theresa Gonzales, Ben Alvarez Montecillo (my sister), and SMA '84 (my high school batchmates).

You have made the burden of Mary Lot's family a little bit lighter. May God fill our homes with his blessings!