One of typhoon Yolanda's biggest statements in my opinion.
Disasters
State of Bislig /
Images from the town of Bislig, Leyte November 26 2013.
The damages and casualties in Bislig is not as bad as the towns of Palo and Tanauan that come before it from the direction of Tacloban, but they also have been devastated. Aid has been reaching them although not on a regular basis. Mobile phone signal has been restored (3G from both Smart and Globe worked amazingly well) and might be a good place for people to file or send data. The people are good in spirits and the primary concern now is building materials for homes as well as temporary shelters for the victims that have made homeless.
Tanauan Mass Grave /
A woman grieves for a loved one at a mass grave in Tanauan, Leyte.
I don't know who particularly she was crying for. I don't know how many. I wasn't even able to ask her name. All I know is that her unguarded grief was the first one that I've seen to be let out seemingly natural ever since I got here. Then you realize that most people here never really had the time to grieve - because they immediately had to worry about their survival until now.
Overwhelmed /
The destruction takes an eerie form under the light of the full moon
The dead is something that has been hard for me to shoot. Especially at night when it's just you and them in sight.
How wind and water was able to bring this boat ashore is still something that amazes me until now.
Having covered almost every major disaster that has hit this country ever since I started out in 2008 has made it quite rare for me to personally be shocked with what I can see out of these events. It's day 15 and I'm still overwhelmed by the scope and extent that Yolanda has done. It's the perfect example when pictures alone can never replace actually being there.