Six months on from one of the world’s worst typhoons and the people of Samar, who have also faced years of low-level conflict, are rebuilding their lives.
The insecurity caused by the protracted violence has left Samar the poorest island in the Philippines. When people were then hit by the mega typhoon’s 300-km winds and 5-metre waves, the effect was devastating.
Before typhoon Haiyan, Floro Elacion Junior was scratching out a living as a fisherman and managing to send his children to school. “Although life was difficult, we learned to budget our money and food in order to survive,” explains Elacion.
Elacion, his mother, wife and three children were in the evacuation centre when the typhoon hit: “We would never have survived had we not moved to the evacuation centre. Â Soon after the typhoon, I went home to check what had happened to our house. I was appalled to see the devastation.” The roofs and walls had been blown off and their possessions scattered. Elacion managed to put together a makeshift shelter and the family slept sitting upright when the rain was heavy.
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