On Sunday, January 16, a month after Typhoon Odette devastated Olango Island, residents lined up for their first round of P5,000 in financial assistance.
The clouds were dark again. The wind was strong.
But for the first time in a while, on this sleepy isolated island, the people had at least something to look forward to.
It took at least two weeks after the typhoon for the first food relief from government agencies on mainland Cebu to reach the people here.
While Olango is only adjacent to the modern Metro Cebu, life here is much slower.
The disparity between the isolated fishing village of Olango and the bustling Metro Cebu has existed for decades but only became more pronounced in the aftermath of the disaster.
While power, water, electricity, and cell signal have returned in many of the urban areas of Cebu, many of the province’s rural villages remain in the dark.
Odette’s destructive winds wrecked the only port capable of docking large ships and RO-ROs (roll-on roll-off barges).
Bringing aid here has been a logistical nightmare for local government and non-governmental organizations trying to deliver the much-needed help for the residents.
Read more:
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/residents-olango-island-cebu-wait-for-aid-after-typhoon-odette/