A year after, Leyteños still feel Odette’s wrath
TACLOBAN City—Exactly one year after Super Typhoon Odette swept through Southern Leyte on Dec. 16, 2021, the Leyteños have yet to put a closure on their nightmarish experience as they struggle to recover from the storm’s catastrophic impact on their lives.
“While we are no longer in the same state as we were in the first few months after the storm, full recovery is still out of sight. Public facilities such as schools, multi-purpose buildings, and evacuation centers still need repairs; peoples’ houses remain in ruins, our farmers’ crops are still unproductive, and our fisherfolks are still left with no boats,” said Southern Leyte Rep. Christopherson Yap.
“We still need assistance from the government and our partners in the private sector and the international community,” Yap added.
“We are slowly recovering,” said Gabriel Villasotes, a storm survivorin Anahawan town.
However, Maasin City Mayor Nacional Mercado painted a better picture for the place, saying although it has not yet fully recovered, it is getting back on track.”
“The people of Maasin City won’t forget that fateful day when Odette hit our city. It was indeed one of the strongest and most destructive typhoons ever on record, but we could not thank our partners from the different private and government sectors who extended assistance and support to us,” Mercado recalled.
“Significantly, we have prioritized the rehabilitation of our city hall, relocation sites, the Maasin City gymnasium, and other multipurpose gymnasium of our barangays as these are important in the delivery of basic services to our constituents,” he added.
According to the mayor, Maasin “is now at 80 percent in terms of rehabilitation.”
“The remaining 20 percent are mostly on road infrastructures, barangay halls, and others. As to agriculture, we’re at 70 percent in terms of rehabilitation, and our people have somehow slowly rebuilt their homes,” Mercado told Manila Standard.
Odette destroyed a total of 94,173 houses and left an estimated P1.57 billion worth of damage to agriculture in the entire province.
“As we revisit the sorrow of our losses as a result of the typhoon, we must also remember that despite the immense devastation it caused, we have come together and have been rebuilding our communities and our livelihoods ever since,” Yap said.
“In honor of your courage and resilience, I stand with you in solidarity in order to support and uplift your voices,” Yap said as he enjoined the residents in commemorating the first anniversary of Super Typhoon Odette after it hit the province on December 16, 2021.