Brief facts;

Super Typhoon Yolanda which has an International name Typhoon Haiyan is claimed to be the strongest typhoon ever recorded. According to the Joint Typhoon Weather Center (JTWC) and other weather agencies like PAGASA, it has a maximum strength of 230 km/h (145mph) up to 315 km/h (195mph) sustained winds.

It made its first landfall in Guiuan Eastern Samar on November 7, 2013, at 8:04 pm. And next to Leyte, Daanbantayan, and Panay Island including Capiz before it exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility.

Based on data, there are 6,329 deaths and 1,074 missing and an estimated amount of $4.55 billion (2013USD) property damage, agricultural and industrial.

My Story

A week prior to the supposed date of the landfall of typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, it is already in the news and social media, how strong this typhoon will be. Many people who were going to be affected began to prepare for the typhoon. Some had panic buying, stock foods, medicines, and all other essentials that are needed.

A day before the typhoon, our barangay officials went to a house to house, to remind us to prepare for the typhoon. Some of those who were living in coastal areas were forcibly evacuated for their safety.

We also prepare for the said typhoon. My husband checked if our roofs can withstand the strong winds. I had a small "sari-sari store" in front of our house at that time. So I began to pack all my merchandise. We do all the necessary things needed to be prepared for the coming typhoon.

November 8, 2013, early morning, the rain began to fall. It was a moderate rain at first. But our city is already under Signal #3. I remember hearing my neighbors saying, " eto na ba yun si Yolanda? and hina naman!", while laughing. I can still see people walking outside as if there is no typhoon. Most people really underestimated Yolanda, and honestly, we do too.

Around 11 am when heavy rains and strong winds started. The electricity was already cut-off. I had a transistor radio before, and I used it to monitor the location of the typhoon.

It was past noon when Yolanda landed in Capiz. It was so strong that we can hear the winds whistle. Strong as if it was carrying heavy things and throw it with force. We can hear so many roofs banging with each other. Our windows began to cracked because of the wind so I told my husband to open all the windows and just let the wind pass through. I told my daughter to stay in her room because my husband and I were battling against Yolanda( literally battling against it). We were both soaked in water because of the rain that is coming in through our windows. Then I saw how Yolanda destroyed my store, I was crying at that time while shouting, "Tama na po, tama na". I began to worry about our safety. So I immediately went to my daughter and told her to pray, to pray harder. We were both crying. Then I hear my husband asking for help. He opens the door and then he could not close it because of the strong wind, so I had to push him to add force to close the door. Then the roof in our dirty kitchen went off. There is nothing we could do about it. We just stay in our sala and pray and wait for Yolanda to pass through.

It lasted for two hours, imagine how things were being destroyed with strong winds that lasted for two hours. It was a horrific experience. We never anticipated that Yolanda would be that strong.

Around 3 pm when Typhoon Yolanda stopped. We went outside to check the damages. I cried when I saw my store destroyed to pieces. Bottles of soda were scattered everywhere. My store was destroyed, nothing was left. We checked our dirty kitchen and, gathered what is left.

Many houses were destroyed, electrical posts were all down. Trees were uprooted. It was a horrific sight.

We had no electricity and a stable source of water for almost 2 weeks. Just imagine how hard it was. It's like we were being isolated from the outside world because the government could not get a hold of our LGU's due to lack of phone signals. We only had ourselves to rely on, just to survive.

That was 7 years ago but the horrific memories that Yolanda had caused us still remains. So we should never underestimate the power of nature.

Thank you for reading it until the end. Again, this is my story, my experience during the typhoon. I know that, what happened to Leyte was much worst than what we had experience.