The sun has started to shine in Baler, Aurora after the landfall of Typhoon Ulysses, but residents consider the new day as the start of a new catastrophe after their battered homes were reduced to debris.
“Hindi namin inaasahan na magiging ganoon kalakas ‘yung bagyo dahil ‘yung previous na bagyong Rolly, hindi kami apeketado noon. Kaya ‘di namin inaasahan na totally mawawala ang aming bahay (We did not expect the intensity of the typhoon because we were not affected by the previous Typhoon Rolly. We did not expect the total destruction of our house),” Barangay Sabang resident Milagros Imperial explained.
Imperial said it was her first time to witness a typhoon that strong which completely devastated what she considered home for 60 years.
Around 30 houses were washed out and damaged during Typhoon Ulysses while dozens of fisherfolks were left jobless after the storm surge ravaged their boats. They are now trying to salvage whatever is left of their properties.
Flooding reached chest level in another area after the river swelled, meeting the high tide and storm surge from the sea.
Residents blamed a bridge construction for what happened. Since its construction began a few years back, the contractors have been filling the stream with sand, narrowing down the estuary’s pathway.
A resident surmised that the construction has turned their community into a catch basin in Sabang Beach.
Baler Mayor Rhet Angara assured the immediate deployment of equipment to open up the waterway. Plywood and galvanized iron sheets have been prepared to be distributed to residents for their home reconstruction. Food packs have also been prepared for all Baler residents.
The Aurora Electric Cooperative said the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines or NGCP’s transmission line in Nueva Ecija affected the energy supply of the whole province, leaving them without electricity for three days now. There is still no assurance as to when power will be fully restored. – Report from Naomi Tiburcio
