December 26, 2021
Bohol has bleak Christmas after Odette
By Joy Rojas
Days after Super Typhoon Odette (international name Rai) unleashed her fury on parts of the Visayas and Mindanao, Tzu Chi Foundation volunteers were on the scene to assess damages and provide initial support to thousands of displaced families in the storm-battered regions.
In Bohol, where volunteers stayed from December 20 to December 23, locals were at a loss for what to do following the unthinkable destruction to their province, a popular tourist destination. As of December 26, Odette has claimed 378 lives, 96 of them from Bohol. Damages have been pegged at an estimated P5 billion.
“Our house is gone, even the structure is gone. The only thing left is the cemented floor,” says 20-year-old Feljoy Torreon of Tinangnan, Tubigon, Bohol. “Everything is destroyed, even our means of livelihood, our fishing boats. We don’t know how we’re going to start again.”
“I invested in a new house near the sea. Now it’s wrecked by the storm,” laments 42-year-old Reynold Cosare. The father of four and tourist driver who survived the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that rocked Bohol in 2013 considers Odette a worse catastrophe. “I didn’t expect it. Our TV, ref, everything, I wasn’t able to save them. I didn’t think it was going to be that bad.”
Neither did Jubelle Tuvilla, who stayed home with his wife while their three young children took cover in the evacuation center. “We didn’t think it would be that strong,” says Tuvilla of the typhoon. With the clothes on his back as his only material possessions, the 51-year-old fisherman is all mixed emotions at this point. “Sad, I don’t know if I should cry,” he says. “I’m so stressed, I don’t know what will happen to us because our house collapsed. Everything is gone.”
Before they can even think of moving forward, all underscore the immediate need for basic necessities.
“We badly need electricity. We badly need potable water. We badly need food items, of course,” says Delia Lasco, a Tzu Chi volunteer based in Bohol. “Clothes, especially for those whose houses were inundated. We badly need housing materials, especially roofing materials. But perhaps rescue tents will do for the meantime, and we don’t have those tents right now.”
“The power situation is so bleak because so many electric posts fell, and water is also a problem. Without power, there’s no water pump and there’s no filtering system for the waterworks to work with,” avers Joven Uy, another Bohol-based Tzu Chi volunteer.
“Ours is a very bleak Christmas because of this typhoon, and [we] hope and pray that we be spared from another typhoon of similar intensity as what we have just experienced.
“Thank you, Master Cheng Yen, for remembering us and sending people to survey our situation. We really need Tzu Chi right now to help the people recover.”
Help Tzu Chi Foundation help our brothers and sisters in the Visayas get back on their feet after this horrific disaster. Your pledge will go a long way in providing for their food, water, and other basic needs.
Kindly send your donations to any of the following accounts. Please screenshot your deposit with your name so we can send you your donation receipt.
Account Name: Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines Inc.
METROBANK Account Number: 163-3-163-07190-9
Account Name: Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines Inc.
BDO Account Number: 011-9-7800-180-0
DSWD AUTHORITY SOLICIATION PERMIT NO. DSWD-SB-00004-2022, Nationwide. Valid until August 5, 2022.
Tzu Chi volunteers walk to a plane that will take them to Bohol days after the wrath of Typhoon Odette. 【Photo by Johnny Kwok】
A Tzu Chi volunteer assesses the extensive damage to property in Barangay Tinangan in the coastal municipality of Inabanga. 【Photo by Johnny Kwok】
Tzu Chi volunteers check out the roofing material blown away by Odette’s heavy winds. 【Photo by Johnny Kwok】
As a Tzu Chi volunteer documents the massive destruction of Typhoon Odette, locals in the background begin rebuilding efforts. 【Photo by Johnny Kwok】
Tzu Chi volunteers take a light seacraft to visit other areas in Bohol badly affected by Typhoon Odette. 【Photo by Johnny Kwok】
A Tzu Chi volunteer walks past bags of relief aid provided by the local government unit.【Photo by Johnny Kwok】
Even supposedly hardy structures like this were not spared from the powerful winds and strong rains of Odette. 【Photo by Johnny Kwok】
A team of Tzu Chi volunteers was in Bohol from December 20 to 23 to survey damages and offer initial support to typhoon victims. 【Photo by Johnny Kwok】
Tzu Chi videographers document devastating scenes in the aftermath of Odette. 【Photo by Johnny Kwok】
“We badly need electricity. We badly need potable water. We badly need food items,” says Bohol-based Tzu Chi volunteer Delia Lasco. 【Photo by Jeaneal Dando】
Feljoy Torreon stands on the cement flooring of her home, the only thing remaining of her family’s residence in Tinangnan, Tubigon, Bohol. 【Photo by Jeaneal Dando】
Father of four and tourist driver Reynold Cosare underestimated Odette’s intensity. “Our TV, ref, everything, I wasn’t able to save them. I didn’t think it was going to be that bad,” he says. 【Photo by Jeaneal Dando】
Even if fisherman Jubelle Tuvilla and his wife watched over their home during the storm, Odette’s fury destroyed everything. “I don’t know if I should cry,” he says. “I’m so stressed, I don’t know what will happen to us because our house collapsed. Everything is gone.”【Photo by Jeaneal Dando】