Typhoon-stricken Philippine town starts rebuilding

The side of the new house is open. A statue of Jesus stands on a table. On the ground is a broken mirror.


“Temporary,” he shrugs, referring to the house and their status. “We're on our own, so we have to do this on our own,” the 40-year-old said as his wife and mother slept on a nearby table. “We're not expecting anybody to come and help us.”

Elsewhere in town, one man was selling skewers of meat, and a couple of kiosks were selling soda and soap. Everywhere, freshly washed clothes lay drying in sun.
Guiuan was one of the first towns hit by the typhoon. It suffered massive damage, but casualty figures were lower than in Tacloban and elsewhere because it was largely spared from storm surges.

While many have left the disaster zone, some chose to stay and help.

Susan Tan, a grocery store owner in Guiuan, was all set to fly elsewhere in the country after hungry townsfolk swarmed her business a few days after the storm, stripping the shelves of everything of value.

But a friend persuaded her to stay, and she is now running a relief center from her shop, which has been in the family since the 1940s.

“I can't just go to Cebu and sit in the mall while this place is in ruins,” she said. “Although I've been looted and made bankrupt by this, I cannot refuse my friends and my town. We need to help each other.”

Tan managed to get her hands on a satellite phone from a friend who works for a local cellphone provider. Hundreds lined up in the sun to use it to call relatives and let them know they are safe. One minute per caller is the rule.

On Thursday, she welcomed her first aid shipment. It's a fraction of what is needed, but it's a start: 20 boxes containing dried noodles, canned goods, sardines, medicine and bottled water.

In signs that relief efforts were picking up, U.S. Navy helicopters flew sorties from the USS George Washington off the coast, dropping water and food to isolated communities. The U.S. military said it will send about 1,000 more troops along with additional ships and aircraft to join the aid effort.