BLESSING THE PLACES: Father Amadeo Alvero sprinkles holy water on the ruins of a community in the central Philippine city of Tacloban to mark the 40th day after Super Typhoon Haiyan brought deadly storm surges on the city. — AFP photo
TACLOBAN, Philippines: Survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan gathered to pray while a priest sprinkled holy water on their ruined homes yesterday in a ceremony marking the end of a 40-day mourning period for the thousands killed.
The memorial took place in Tacloban on the island of Leyte, which bore the brunt of the Philippines’ deadliest typhoon, accounting for more than 5,000 of the 6,069 confirmed deaths.
“The people here have accepted that their loved ones will not be coming back,” Father Amadeo Alvero, of the Santo Nino parish in Tacloban, told AFP after celebrating an open-air mass attended by about 100 survivors.
“However, they are having difficulty getting back on their feet because they still do not have proper homes, electricity is still down, and many have also lost their jobs.
“City officials have yet to find a relocation place for them.”
The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country where it is traditional to mourn the dead for 40 days.
Residents of the parish are families of fishermen, fish vendors, and informal settlers.
They have all been told by the city government that they will not be allowed to rebuild because their old homes were too close to the shore and dangerous, the priest added.
Haiyan slashed across the central Philippines on Nov 8, unleashing ferocious winds of up to 315 kilometres an hour on an area the size of Portugal, destroying more than a million homes and leaving four million people homeless.
The authorities said most of the deaths were caused by tsunami-like giant storm surges that swept through Tacloban and other cities and towns of Leyte and Samar islands. — AFP