Mom recalls horror of losing 2-year-old son in landslide

Daisy Mae Villaroel, 23, was still in distress as she waited for her turn to be treated by Department of Health (DOH) representatives at the evacuation center in Abuyog, Leyte.

Her two-year-old son Zharyn is one of the recent casualties left by tropical storm “Agaton.” Her brother is missing, while her mother was severely injured, being treated in the hospital.

Almost 80 percent of their village has been wiped out by a massive landslide and a “tsunami-like” wave.

As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, the local government unit reported two deaths from Brgy. Pilar, 177 are still missing, and 47 were injured.

Her son is still in the mortuary while she awaits an update on how to give him a decent burial.

She said they were not able to save anything except themselves when the landslide first covered their village chief’s house.

“We thought that we would be safe when we evacuated to my mother’s house, which was a bit far from the sea,” she narrated.

For a while they thought the worst was over, but a massive landslide also engulfed her mother’s house as well as the road, which was supposedly their escape route.

It was followed by a surge, which prompted her to carry her sleeping son to save him but, caught by the wave, they got separated.

“I thought it was just a nightmare. I knew my son was already gone so I just did everything to save my mother and brother who were wounded,” she said.

With the road blocked by boulders, mud, and uprooted trees, rescuers transported the survivors using a boat to the town proper.

A total of 54 fatalities have been reported in Eastern Visayas due to “Agaton,” five from Abuyog, 47 from Baybay City, and one from Motiong, Samar.