Bolinao A Paradise Place

The local officials led by Gov. Amado Espino Jr., Mayor Alfonso Celeste of Bolinao and Mayor Nestor Pulido of Anda did all the necessary preparation when they learned that “Emong” would directly hit their place but, only to realize that no amount of disaster preparedness would shield them from the wrath of Typhoon Emong.

Here is the overwhelming aftermath of the typhoon according to the Mayors posted in Inquirer.

“The destruction was overwhelming. We were like in a war zone,” said Pulido, whose town’s aquaculture industry was almost wiped out. Two persons died and 95 percent of all the houses on the island lost their roofs.

Celeste said an old-time Bolinao resident had told him it was the strongest typhoon ever to hit the town. At least 20 people, mostly caretakers of fish pens and cages, died and four others were reported missing.

Like in Anda, 95 percent of Bolinao’s aquaculture industry was destroyed by the typhoon. Ninety percent of the houses in the town also lost their roofs.

“We were no match to the typhoon. It was simply too strong,” Celeste said.

But he said the municipal government’s preparedness still saved many lives. As early as 5:30 p.m. on May 7, when “Emong” began pummeling the town, rescue teams had been moving people to various evacuation centers.

“We were able to respond immediately and attend to their needs,” he said.

Pulido said had they not been prepared, thousands of people in his town could have gone hungry the following day.

While a team distributed food, other groups cleared the roads of fallen trees and other debris. The clearing operations, however, turned out easier said than done.

Even members of the provincial disaster coordinating council, led by Gov. Amado Espino Jr., under the pelting rain and strong winds that night, were stranded in Bani town.

Scores of concrete electrical posts along the highway were knocked down. Espino had to call for heavy equipment to clear the roads.