2013: The Year that Was

In the years to come, Filipinos old enough to remember the events would look back to 2013 and still remember the catastrophes that occurred that year. In the last quarter of the year, so near the Christmas season, two extremely devastating events would occur one after another: first was the earthquake that had a magnitude of 7.2 and the other was the typhoon that was considered to be one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded.

Eid al-Adha fell on October 15 in 2013. Schools were closed and some employees did not have work, which was fortuitous because the aftermath would have been more horrible and devastating otherwise.

The day started like any ordinary day and all was well until the clock struck 8:12 in the morning and very strong tremors were felt. The earth movement lasted for about 34 seconds. In the aftermath, people were left feeling confused and terrified, especially in the wake of the aftershocks that continued to plague the affected areas for days afterwards.

 Intensity map of the earthquake.

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The earthquake’s epicenter was in Bohol, but intensity 6 and 7 were felt as far as Cebu and Negros. Bohol was the most affected; many of its churches that used to attract local and foreign tourists were reduced to rubble and some bridges and roads were rendered impassable.

Ruined Tubigon town hall.

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 The Church of Our Lady of Light in Loon after the earthquake.

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In Cebu, the bell tower of Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, the oldest Roman Catholic church in the country, collapsed.

Ruined bell tower of the Santo Niño Church.

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Unfortunately, Filipinos would not yet be given time to recover as less than a month later, on November 7, a very strong typhoon would hit the country—this time again, the Visayas area would be the most affected.

The weather bureau had been tracking the bad weather days before it entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility and had been giving constant and regular updates and warnings. People were advised to prepare as Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) was already categorized as a Category 5 super typhoon even before it entered the PAR. But nobody was actually ever prepared for what would actually take place or how much devastation it would wreak.

Typhoon Yolanda on November 7, 2013.

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Yolanda did not stay too long in one place and was out of the PAR within the weekend, but the damages it left behind was overwhelming in its magnitude. Many lives were lost and entire towns were almost wiped out. Even more people were left feeling confused and helpless. Not only did they lose their homes and means of livelihood, they also lost loved ones. Add to that, they did not have any food and potable water left and had to rely on donations and relief aids for survival.

Tacloban City, a week after Yolanda.

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The aftermath of Yolanda was so great that many local and international organizations gave donations and aids to help the victims and survivors. People from all walks of life donated money and volunteered their time and services to the different relief drives started all over the country. 

Despite the tragedies, smiles never left the faces of many Filipinos.

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A year later, many people still haven’t completely recovered from the devastation of the last year; many are still picking up the pieces of their lives left shattered by the loss of loved ones or of the property that they worked so hard for. But somehow, the tragedies of 2013 did not conquer the indomitable spirit of the Filipinos. If nothing else, our resilience and ability to smile in the face of adversities have once again seen us through. Slowly and bit by bit, with help from local and foreign groups and individuals, the survivors dusted themselves off and moved on with their lives.

Where are they now?

They’re still there, of course, hanging tough and never losing hope.