Typhoon Nona hit Southern Philippines early this week. According to PAGASA, Nona made its first landfall around 11:00 a.m. last Monday (December 14) over Batay, Northern Samar. Then, it made a second landfall on Monday night in Sorsogon province. I am from Irosin, one of the towns in Sorsogon.
My family was affected by the typhoon. My mother and my niece evacuated to my aunt’s house while my sister and her two children stayed in their house during the typhoon. Unfortunately, their house was destroyed, according to my sister, it cannot be repaired anymore. We really needed to build a new house. Same as my brother’s, they need to build a new house – in the vacant lot in front of my Mama’s house.
Good thing the communications lines are already working. I’m able to talk to them through SMS (no calls for now since they are saving their cellphone’s battery). There’s no electricity yet but cellphone charging services are available in the town proper courtesy of business owners with generator sets.
We will send them groceries and some amount of money so that they can start buying materials for the new house. Hearing this kind of situation makes me feel sad. I’ve experienced this several times during my younger years in the province.
I am praying that all the families and individuals affected will be able to recover quickly after the calamity. In that way, they can welcome the fast-approaching new year with a happy heart…