One of typhoon Yolanda's biggest statements in my opinion.
HaiyanPH
The Fight Shifts /
A survivor made homeless by Yolanda takes a bath inside a makeshift evacuation center inside a school campus in Tacloban
Children try to cross stagnant water with the help of school chairs that serve as makshift bridges within the premises of an evacuation center inside a school campus in Tacloban.
A mother with her child inside a school that has been converted into an evacuation center in Tacloban
An evacuation center in Palo, Leyte. A lot of evacuation centers here have unbearable living conditions
Scabs being scratched until they turn into open wounds again. Little feet wading through stagnant water which clearly nested a new generation of mosquitoes. The mud that has turned into soot filling various pathways in the maze of mats that would be the sleeping spaces of an entire family or even two once night falls and the world begins to sleep.
It’s hard to imagine how this was once a school built for children to pursue the dreams of a nation and have better lives. Today it is a space for lives that have fought and unspeakably hard fight to survive a monster called Yolanda.
Today the fight no longer involves hurricane-like winds and tsunami like storm surges. Today the fight is how to stay alive - healthy and as normal as people can be. To call the living conditions of the people who were able to survive inhumane is something that no longer needs validity. People will slowly begin to die in these conditions.
Every single survivor I have met and had the chance to speak to have never been short of thankful for how much love and care the world has given as they know they are still alive because of the aid and relief. It has been pouring. And they owe their lives to every single donation that the world has given.
The survivors need help to figure out a way to live for the long-term. It now turns into restoring human dignity and providing liveable spaces for the people who have lost so much.
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.
Haiyan Outtakes /
The covered court becomes an open court. Residents are thankful that Yolanda only took the roofing of this basketball court in Ormoc.