Aurora resident after Typhoon Noru destroys town: ‘We don’t know how to start anew’

Before Typhoon Noru (local name Karding) devastated the province of Aurora, 32-year-old Brechelle’s life was intact, like any other resident living in the area.

But after Noru devastated her hometown in Aurora, a province located north of Manila, Brechelle, who sells souvenirs such as banana chips and keychains to visiting tourists for a living, painfully admits she does not know how to start anew as the typhoon brought her and her family’s house down.

A tearful Brechelle recalls her experience: “We don’t know where to start after what had happened to us.” Brechelle adds that it was the first time she and her family experienced a typhoon this powerful since her family moved to their village in Dingalan, Aurora eight years ago.

State meteorologists placed Dingalan under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 5 — the highest storm signal category. It was also the second area where Noru made its landfall on Sunday night, Sept. 25, as a typhoon.

“What happened to us really is depressing,” she stresses. “I’ve learned that you have to be prepared when this type of typhoon hits your area, and you have to keep your focus despite being challenged by calamity.”

Noru spared nothing from Brechelle’s house — the roof was swept away, while the walls tumbled down as these were not strong enough to withstand Noru’s winds.

“Look at my toys. They are dirty now,” says Charie, Brechelle’s five-year-old daughter. “And here, we have fishes, but they are gone now.”

While Brechelle and her family evacuated to safety before the typhoon unleashed its wrath, they were not able to salvage, however, many of their belongings. For instance, the souvenir vendor had to dry Charie’s soaked schoolbooks so she could use them again when classes resume in the area the following week.

“I don’t know when I’ll go back to school. My teacher is not there. My classmates are not there, too,” Charie says.

Despite what happened, Brechelle is grateful that no one in her family was harmed by the typhoon’s onslaught. “We’re really grateful that we’re still complete, that no one got hurt from the typhoon.”

The October 1 data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) showed around 245,000 families were affected by Noru. Thirty-five cities and municipalities were placed under a state of calamity, and the cost of damage to agriculture and infrastructure is now estimated at around P3 billion and P24 million, respectively.

Written by KATRINA HALLARE | Field and Emergency Communications Specialist