A year after Typhoon Haiyan (known in the Philippines as Yolanda) hit the Philippines, the mayor of the worst affected city says the people are still struggling to get their lives back to normal.
With winds of over 315 kph, Yolanda was the deadliest typhoon ever to hit the Philippines and was one of the strongest ever recorded. It killed thousands and made millions homeless.
The typhoon struck on November 8, 2013, and wiped out everything in its path. Seven-metre storm surges destroyed some 90 per cent of the city.
More than 8,000 people perished.
Speaking at a press briefing in Manila, Alfred Romualdez, mayor of Tacloban City, in Leyte province, said rehabilitation work had been very slow, with fewer than 100 of 14,500 promised permanent new homes having been built. He added that thousands were still living in danger zones.
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“Building more permanent homes is a slow process and takes time. Hopefully, by January next year, the pace will pick up,” Romualdez, nephew of the Philippines’ former first lady, Imelda Marcos, told reporters.
He blamed the lack of suitable land where houses capable of withstanding 250-kph winds could be built, but expressed hope that the 14,500 homes would be completed by 2017.
As for residents still in what the mayor called danger zones, he said they number over 3,000, with many still living in tents. He said the majority would hopefully be transferred to transitional shelters in the near future.
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Romualdez lamented that there had been a severe shortage of building materials, such as cement and iron sheets.
Meanwhile, in the capital Manila, where a property boom is in full swing, there is no shortage of building materials. Many critics say rampant corruption is seriously affecting relief efforts for the victims of Yolanda.
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