In a frenzy from Manila to Tacloban, woman rescues 14

MANILA, Philippines - Geraldine "Gigi" Uy Wong, an orthodontist living in Manila, feared for her family's lives upon news of super typhoon Yolanda turning houses into rubble and taking lives of thousands in Tacloban on Friday, November 8.

As communication signals were down,  electricity was cut, the city practically turned into a wasteland, and Gigi,  like thousands of other Filipinos, had no way to contact her relatives, posting only their photos on Facebook in case someone could provide information.

Media reports of Tacloban residents buried under destroyed homes or drowned inside buildings as they were trapped in rapid storm surge raised disturbing questions for Gigi: Have her uncles and aunts something to eat? Do her cousins still have homes? Are they alive?

When no response came, she went into what she called a "wild frenzy" to pull her loved ones from the disquieted area to safety.

Even as the Tacloban airport was severely damaged, Gigi accompanied by her niece managed to board an Air 21 cargo plane Monday morning bound for Tacloban -- one of the few flights allowed by authorities. Whatever could be awaiting her, there was no turning back.

"On the way to the city, I saw ... countless dead bodies strewn on the ground in various stages of decomposition, extensive destruction everywhere I looked, injured people walking on the streets looking like zombies - hungry, confused, desperate. The stench of death permeated all around us and sent chills down my spine," Gigi wrote, recounting her search.

Around the city, dead bodies were being retrieved by members of the Bureau of Fire Protection. Debris was everywhere, with only a few surviving buildings left.

"Because of this, what would normally take 40 minutes or less to traverse became an agonizing two-hour ride ... I was also heartbroken, for this is the place where I spent some of the most wonderful summers of my childhood," she recalled.

Gigi arrived at a now dilapidated city hall where a Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) command post was placed. She made inquiries, was assisted by a couple of government workers and set out on foot as the sun had already set.

"Thankfully, thankfully, I found them in two separate locations. They were cooped up in their houses, whispering in the dark, afraid to attract criminal elements that were reported to be going around looting," Gigi said.

"They could not believe I was there right before their eyes, and it was the first time in so long that they had a glimmer of hope that they would be rescued," she continued.

In the middle of the night, Gigi, her niece, and the 14 they rescued rushed to flee the area and return to the DSWD post to make calls and plan their eventual--albeit narrow--escape.

"I found out that Cebu Pacific Air was offering humanitarian flights beginning Tuesday morning! All systems were in place for our eventual escape, and all I could do was pray to God that my plan would go on smoothly," she said.

Miraculously, all 16 of them managed to board the flight the next day and arrive in Manila.

"We arrived very late last night because of several delays due to airport congestion but we all finally arrived in Manila. Thank you Lord! Thank you for guiding all of us back to safety: 14 relatives plus me and my niece who went there = 16 saved lives. It could have gone differently, and I shudder to think what would have happened if I myself got stranded as well," she wrote.

Geraldine Uy Wong and her relatives arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Tacloban last November 11. Photo courtesy of Ms. Wong

Once in Manila, they had to rush again, this time to the hospital. One of Gigi's cousins suffered from a terrible wound on his leg acquired from floating debris that broke off their house's aluminum fence while his family swam for their lives at the height of the howler.

"The lack of antibiotics and proper access to doctors made his wound fester, and i noticed his leg and foot was already starting to swell. I was also worried because his wound was exposed to flood and dirty waters the days after," she recounted.

Fortunately, the complication was prevented when doctors in Manila gave him proper treatment and a shot of tetanus toxoid.

The day after, she wrote:

Finally, I slept last night after the last of our evacuees was tucked safely into bed. I woke up this morning with headache, stomachache because of hunger suffered while I was there, and pains in all parts of my body, but most of all, I also woke up with a big heartache for all the other people we left behind in Tacloban.

I cry as I write this, I cannot even begin to describe all the horrors that I saw with my own eyes. I did not take any pictures, partly because I was in a wild frenzy to look for them and get them out. I did not allow myself to get distracted from my mission.

I woke up and wished it was just a nightmare. But it's not. Why? Why? Why? Why did this have to happen? I cannot understand.