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Typhoon Rolly Leaves PH with Devastating Casualties, Some Realizations made

TJ GacuraBy No Comments6 Mins Read

Super Typhoon Rolly made its way to the Philippines last Sunday, November 1, and Catandanues was the most affected area in the country. The typhoon slammed the said municipality with a maximum wind of 225kph near the center of the storm and gustiness of up to 280kph.

Rolly ravaged the Philippines and left the country with a number of casualties as well as destroying thousands of properties and livelihood.

5 Dead in Catanduanes

According to Governor Joseph Cua, the strongest typhoon of 2020 left at least five dead people.

In an interview over People’s Television Network he said, “Lima po ang patay, nalunod noong tumawid ng ilog, inabot ng baha.”

He also added that some 15,000 families were affected by Rolly.

80% of Housing Destroyed

When Typhoon Rolly made its landfall, it was considered the “strongest typhoon” of 2020. As a result, thousands of residents evacuated from their homes as the rain intensified and flooded villages.

Senator Richard Gordon, the chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, stated that the full extent of the Typhoon’s damage couldn’t be fully determined as the communication lines in the area were damaged as well.

In an interview with GMA’s Dobol B, Senator Gordon said that at least 80% of houses in Catanduanes towns were destroyed by Rolly.

“11 bayan kasi diyan [sa Catanduanes]. Doon sa tatlong bayan, ang nahagilap nung tatlong tao namin na nakamotorsiklo, visual lang ito, mga 80% ang damaged sa mga bahay.”

17 Roads were Closed

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar made a report on Monday that at least 17 roads were inaccessible in Catanduanes province and households in parts of Luzon have no electricity.

According to Villar, the 17 roads include: two in Cordillera Administrative Region, two in Region 3, one in Region 4A, and 12 in Region 5.

“These are due to fallen trees, fallen electric posts, landslides and flooding. We have already deployed personnel for road clearing operations,” Villar said.

Power Outages

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi in his report said that 53,863 households in Regions 4A, 3, and 5 were experiencing power outages due to Rolly.

Transmission lines were also affected in Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Albay, and Sorsogon. 45 electric cooperatives in eight regions were also affected to which 11 were still non-operational.

“Industry players are already doing everything they can to bring the power back as soon as possible,” Cusi said.

Cusi however assured that there is enough supply of petroleum products in affected areas that will last up to 22 days.

Where is the President?

On Twitter, #NasaanAngPangulo became a popular topic when President Rodrigo Duterte was in his home in Davao City amidst the super typhoon crisis.

Many netizens wondered where was the President when Rolly wreaked havoc on the country.

Some Twitter users also criticized the alleged weak and incompetent government while facing a state of calamity. Others commented that the country’s leader should be on the frontlines during these calamities.

In a tweet, Twitter user @kakiep83 criticized the government to which the President is entitled to be safe during typhoons.

@fthilbay wrote that it is not to demand the impossible from the President but to be available to show his leadership.

Malacañang however dismissed the claims that the President was not present during the calamity. According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, the President, despite being in the comforts of his home, was working from Davao.

“Bagamat ang Pangulo po ay nasa Davao, lahat po ng ahensya ng gobyerno ay nasa red alert… Kami po ay nag press briefing dito sa Camp Aguinaldo ng araw ng Linggo at gumagana po ang gobyerno,” said Roque.

When asked why the government only held a briefing when Rolly arrived last Sunday, Roque said that it is because its landfall was expected during that time.

“Well, dahil inaasahan po nga natin ang landfall kahapon ano. At sa totoo lang po, araw ng Linggo naman yun pero maski araw ng Linggo po nandito po ang lahat ng kalihim para iparating ang kahandaan ng gobyerno sa pagbibigay [impormasyon] sa mga nasalanta,” Roque said.

He also added: “So ang tanong po bakit lang kahapon, kasi kahapon naman po pumasok ang bagyo ano at bago po yan ay patuloy naman po ang briefing na ginagawa ng NDRRMC [National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council]. Ako po ay nakatutok sa mga briefing na ginagawa ni Usec. [Ricardo] Jalad para sa kahandaan bago pa tumama ang bagyo.”

Senator Bong Go Gets Special Promotion on His Relief Operations

During the high-level briefing of the Duterte government on Typhoon Rolly, Senator Bong Go stole the spotlight by airing his relief efforts on the affected areas. This backfired as netizens slammed Senator Go for taking advantage of the situation to promote himself and his ‘efforts’.

While on break, state broadcaster RTVM aired reports from field reporters and the first report was an update on the relief efforts of Senator Bong Go. On Twitter, netizens were quick to call out the actions of the Senator.

Twitter user @AlvekEcaldre aired his disgust with how the senator seized the opportunity to promote himself. 

Another Twitter user named @pinkswayv wrote: 

Meanwhile, Senator Go pushed for the creation of a Department of Disaster. However, some netizens think that creating another department is not necessary. Twitter user @johnphilipbravo said that there were other government agencies and local government units to provide support during calamities and creating a new department is not of importance.

Information Gap Experienced due to ABS-CBN Shutdown

Typhoon Rolly, the strongest typhoon to come this 2020, made people realize the importance of information dissemination. ABS-CBN had a wider reach compared to other media companies. Because of its shutdown, all of its regional stations were also included. While Rolly is busy ravaging the country, most of our fellow countrymen had no idea what was happening since their only source of news was ABS-CBN.

On social media, some netizens pointed out how the media giant helped spread information even in remote areas.

Twitter user @feiyie pointed out that not everyone has access to the internet and their only source of information and news is ABS-CBN

@jojosaguin wrote that the loss of ABS-CBN’s franchise left those in remote areas without information and prayed for them for being left out. 

https://twitter.com/jojosaguin/status/1322572105603428352

Even former Vice President Jejomar Binay knew the consequence of ABS-CBN’s loss of franchise, stating that the closure of the media giant has left a “noticeable void” in information dissemination. 

Rolly a Clone of Yolanda

Many people compared Typhoon Rolly to Yolanda, another super typhoon that devastated the Philippines way back in 2013. Yolanda, which made 750,000 people evacuate their homes was the worst typhoon to ever hit the country. However, the Filipino people already learned a lot from the previous super typhoon.

Despite the fear being overwhelming since Rolly was considered a super typhoon, many people prepared themselves for the worst. Being more observant of how the government will handle this crisis proved that the Filipinos learned from the past. The ‘Bayanihan’ trait still lingers in the hearts of the Filipinos as they ask for prayers and donations to those affected by Rolly.

One Twitter user named @potatoatfreezer showed compassion to those affected by Rolly. 

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TJ believes in the saying, "Make your passion your profession," which made him dip his toes into any writing profession. He tried blogging, tried feature writing; he even dabbled into SEO writing. His heart, however, points into news writing.

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