Exiting Tacloban Towards Southern Samar

When I say "Southern Samar", I do not mean another province but just the southern portion of the island that actually gets divided into the provinces of Eastern Samar and Samar (Western Samar). Okay, we did not have much further ado in Tacloban. Most about it is already on the news anyway. And, the purpose of the friend is/was to see Hernani. However, no one has a choice but see the aftermath of Yolanda anywhere in the city. Thus, on our way out to Samar, I had more views of Yolanda’s wrath around Tacloban. Here are some of them…

Do you see the brand in the picture below? Yeah, the letter "Y" may have turned head over heels, but it does still tell what brand it is, right?!

Many are still in ruins. I think it will be hard to put things back to how they were before Yolanda since many of the debris scattered around are not just light materials.

If you zoom this picture, those are M Lhuiller Taxis (Toyota Avanzas) along with other vehicles swept and rammed on those walls like little toys

The green roofs are of the S.O.S. Children's Village (an orphanage). That water tank WAS firmly planted to the factory on the other side of the bridge - hep hep, not left of the picture but below - I mean behind me, behind the camera, lower right, and across the creek! The surge somehow transferred that giant steel drum across the bridge and on to where the orphans should be playing.

Entrance to the children's village

This vacant lot is a parking area of vehicles and heavy equipment, yes. The owners surely never had ships or boats in mind as that is still many hundred meters away deep down there. But that white thing was pushed by Yolanda forward to join its terrestrial counterparts!

Excluding the running motorcycle and everything on the right side of the road, I counted 5 downed vehicles. Friend who has been passing here since the day after Yolanda says there are more. Anyway, the smallest I see are those two Ford-Fiera type jeeps on the left and biggest I see is that big truck lying on its side...

More vehicles crumpled or washed to the fields like little pieces of plastic toys

Am not sure if that little red toy-car is of Yolanda's wrath. But the roof covering the San Juanico Bridge Marker is definitely of Yolanda's doing...

Looking left and right from the bridge, hard to see any more traces of the devastation, since its tall. And yes, we heard there are still sightings of floating dead bodies on both Samar and Leyte-side shores.

But looking at that little islet to the left, coconuts and other trees downed by the wind and water surge tells that Yolanda did pass this way somehow.