Typhoon Hagupit rages through the Philippines merely a year after the Super Typhoon Haiyan. Monday December 8, 2014, typhoon Hagupit's winds were reaching sustained speeds of 80 mph. Landfall wasn't expected until Sunday, but the government was sending out warnings on Wednesday. The citizens of towns near the ocean were warned of waves that could reach 13 feet in height. At least 27 people were confirmed dead, which is tremendously lower than the 7,000 that were lost to typhoon Haiyan. The area is still recovering from disaster of a lifetime and many of the citizens are still living in tents.
13,000 houses were destroyed in the typhoon. People are working together to get these towns cleaned up. Many people in adjacent towns are walking through many inches of mud. The rain that came with typhoon Hagupit caused many mudslides and flash floods. The clean up is a job for a team, and as they have done before, the citizens of many towns in the Philippines are doing it with their heads held high.
Though "Hagupit" means Ruby to the Filipinos, it was far from pretty for them. The towns that had the biggest risk of being destroyed were evacuated and moved to more stable buildings. Even when the evacuees only had a floor to sleep on, they were safer in those buildings than in their rickety houses. The shelters filtered what the civilians were allowed to bring in, which means that the families not only lost their homes, they lost many of the items that went along with their homes; they essentially lost their lives again, at least any evidence of their existence. |
Cites:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/nearing-super-status-typhoon-hagupit-heads-towards-philippines-n260376
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/philippines-begins-cleanup-after-typhoon-hagupit-n264336
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30366091
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/nearing-super-status-typhoon-hagupit-heads-towards-philippines-n260376
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/philippines-begins-cleanup-after-typhoon-hagupit-n264336
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30366091