‘Odette’ flattens whole barangays as residents scramble for food, water

Amid the lack of relief goods, a man eats the fruit from a coconut tree in Barangay Punta BIlar. [Erwin Mascariñas/Greenpeace]
Amid the lack of relief goods, a man eats the fruit from a coconut tree in Barangay Punta BIlar. [Erwin Mascariñas/Greenpeace]

Surigao City survivors face further adversity in the wake of Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) as they find themselves homeless right before the holidays. Residents of Brgys. Punta Bilar, San Juan, Lipata and other areas in the city are left clamoring for food and water as supplies run dry.

A woman prepares a meal for her children amid the lack of roof cover in Barangay Lipata. [Erwin Mascariñas/Greenpeace]
A woman prepares a meal for her children amid the lack of roof cover in Barangay Lipata. [Erwin Mascariñas/Greenpeace]

Joining calls for immediate relief and recovery, Greenpeace also renewed its calls for climate justice and the declaration of a national climate emergency amid the worsening impacts of the climate crisis.

This is the house of Betty Consuega in the outskirts of the Surigao City Airport, roofless and dilapidated after the typhoon Odette hit the island. She is one of the 56,000 families that are displaced after the devastation made by the typhoon. Betty shielded her 3 grandson and daughters when the roof went off and prayed that her grandchildren are spared from the typhoon. [Jilson Tiu/Greenpeace]
This is the house of Betty Consuega in the outskirts of the Surigao City Airport, roofless and dilapidated after the typhoon Odette hit the island. She is one of the 56,000 families that are displaced after the devastation made by the typhoon. Betty shielded her 3 grandson and daughters when the roof went off and prayed that her grandchildren are spared from the typhoon. [Jilson Tiu/Greenpeace]

“As we seek immediate recovery for our fellow citizens in the aftermath of Odette, we demand that our institutions see this as another wake-up call – and this time, they have to take it seriously,” Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Philippines Executive Director Yeb Saño said. “These typhoons will get worse, more unpredictable, and more destructive should they remain merely reactionary to the climate crisis.”

Hundreds of people disregard COVID-19 health protocols just to get their share of rice and noodles from donations in Barangay San Juan, Surigao City. Relief goods haven’t reached them even after 5 days. [Erwin Mascariñas/Greenpeace]
Hundreds of people disregard COVID-19 health protocols just to get their share of rice and noodles from donations in Barangay San Juan, Surigao City. Relief goods haven’t reached them even after 5 days. [Erwin Mascariñas/Greenpeace]