Rise Together

From lives to livelihood, Typhoon Odette took away many things from the people of Siargao except one thing: their sense of community

- LAURD SALEN

When Typhoon Odette struck the country over a year ago, it left over 400 people dead or missing, flattened communities, and displaced more than 3 million Filipinos. The total cost of infrastructure and agriculture damage was placed at P51.8 billion,

according to a situational report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NRRMC). Among the islands that took the brunt of Typhoon Odette was the popular tourist destination Siargao.

Even with the constant warning and monitoring, no one expected Typhoon Odette to carry the wrath it brought—no amount of preparation could ever steel anyone from the high winds and floods it delivered to Siargao’s doorstep just a week before Christmas. And what made this all worse was that it happened in the middle of the pandemic.

Beyond the casualty count and destruction costs, how extensive is the devastation of Typhoon Odette to the communities and the environment of Siargao? We talk to Rvee De Leon David, an architect and project manager in Siargao, who details the onslaught and aftermath of Typhoon Odette.

David says complacency was never an issue when they first heard about Odette: “We all knew that the typhoon was strong, but we didn’t expect it to be that strong. We managed to do some precautionary measures before the typhoon, like securing the roof and boarding up windows and glasses.”

He continues, “We still managed to party the night before the typhoon, but little did we know that it would be as devastating and traumatizing.”

In recalling the morning of Odette’s landfall, David says it was peaceful —the waves and wind were all very still, which gave them false security that everything would be all right.