A year after losing all their belongings to one of the world's strongest storms, thousands of weary people in the Philippines emerged from evacuation shelters on Sunday to find their homes again in ruins.
Typhoon Hagupit hit the central Philippines late on Saturday with gusts of 210 kilometres (130 miles) an hour, destroying flimsy houses, tearing roofs off others, knocking down power poles and smashing bridges.
During a terrifying night, it cut across Tacloban city and dozens of other communities that were only just starting to recover from last year's catastrophic Super Typhoon Haiyan.
"We were on edge the entire night because the winds were so strong. We could see roofs flying," 39-year-old peanut vendor and Haiyan survivor Vicente Roquero told AFP at an evacuation centre in Tacloban on Leyte island.
Haiyan's monster winds and tsunami-like storm surges claimed more than 7,350 lives, and left more than one million people on central Philippine islands in need of new and safe homes.
Hagupit, which was due to take three days to cut across the Philippines, did not generate the massive storm surges that claimed so many lives last year in the central Philippines.
Mass evacuations before it arrived also helped to ensure there was no repeat of the mass casualties in the areas devastated by Haiyan.
"There is a collective sigh of relief," Jerry Yaokasin, vice mayor of Tacloban, a city of 220,000 people that was one of the worst-hit last year, told AFP
"The initial assessment is that there are no casualties. We were better prepared... up to 50,000 people were packed in evacuation centres."
But many people -- who have since Haiyan lived in tents, temporary shelters and shanty homes -- again faced the trauma of losing their homes.
"The temporary houses destroyed by the typhoon is our big problem right now... our biggest challenge is how to provide for those who were displaced because of that," Yaokasin said.
After losing her coastal shanty home to the storm surges of Haiyan, Maria Anna Alvarez, 34, had been barely surviving -- living with a dozen other relatives on the outskirts of Tacloban in a tent provided by an aid agency.
She returned from an evacuation centre on Sunday morning to see the tent, and those of 300 other families living nearby, destroyed.
"We were hoping for a merry Christmas... but it looks like that wish won't come true," Alvarez said.
"Nothing was left of our place, but we have no choice but to be resilient... the important thing is we're alive."
Tereso Sano, a 42-year-old unemployed driver, said he would start rebuilding the home nearby he shared with seven others as soon as the winds subsided.
"It's a difficult feeling, knowing you don't have a roof above your head," Sano told AFP.
AFP
Sun Dec 07 2014
Typhoon Hagupit hit the central Philippines late on Saturday with gusts of 210 kilometres (130 miles) an hour -AFPpic
Kerajaan lihat semula perjanjian penjualan air kepada Singapura - Fadillah
Fadillah berkata perkara itu sudah berlaku ketika zaman pentadbiran bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad lagi.
Pelancong asing ditahan disyaki cabul pekerja spa di Pulau Perhentian
Polis menahan seorang pelancong lelaki warga Maghribi kerana disyaki mencabul seorang juruterapi wanita rakyat tempatan di Pulau Perhentian.
Warga Thailand seludup diesel dihadapkan mahkamah
Seorang pemandu lori warga Thailand dihadapkan ke mahkamah atas menyeleweng 322 liter minyak diesel minggu lalu.
ADUN Rembia sertai Pas: YB Kampar minta buka riben putih
Susulan pengumuman ADUN Rembia sertai Pas dalam sidang media, YB Kampar, Chong Zhemin kemuka Peraturan Mesyuarat dan menyifatkan satu penghinaan besar buat Parlimen.
#SisiTVParlimen
#AWANInews
#SisiTVParlimen
#AWANInews
Malaysia, Brunei dalam proses rundingan muktamad sempadan darat negara - Mohamad
Mohamad Hasan berkata buat masa ini, kerja-kerja penandaan dan pengukuran di lapangan telah meliputi 175.96 km atau 33.3 peratus daripada keseluruhan jarak sempadan.
Kim Pan Gon undur diri kesan kepada Harimau Malaya
Apa reaksi peminat Harimau Malaya dan penganalisis sukan mengenai peletakan jawatan Kim Pan-Gon?
Masuk Pas untuk sama-sama susah dengan rakyat - ADUN Rembia
Muhamad Jailani berkata, sebelum ini beliau pernah menghantar surat kepada Lembaga Disiplin UMNO memohon untuk memecat keahliannya daripada parti Melayu itu.
Perang berlarutan antara punca kelewatan penghantaran Black Hawk
Perkara itu dimaklumkan pihak Aerotree Defence and Services Sdn Bhd iaitu syarikat yang dipertanggungjawabkan dalam kontrak perolehan perkhidmatan sewaan helikopter berkenaan.
Keghairahan final Euro 2024 dibawakan ke restoran mamak
Kemeriahan dan keghairahan perlawanan final UEFA EURO 2024 antara Sepanyol dengan England di Berlin, Jerman dirasai di Malaysia, dibawakan oleh 'Astro BizOne Watch Party' di Restoran Hakim, Seksyen 7, Shah Alam.
Polis kesan remaja lelaki hilang sejak enam hari lepas
Polis sedang berusaha mengesan seorang remaja lelaki yang dilaporkan hilang oleh keluarganya di Kuala Pilah sejak enam hari lepas.