Tacloban fisherman fears onslaught of Typhoon Hagupit - CNN.comTacloban fisherman fears onslaught of Typhoon Hagupit - CNN.com



























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Tacloban fisherman on Hagupit: 'We fear this typhoon will destroy everything'



By Paul Armstrong, CNN
updated 1:34 AM EST, Sat December 6, 2014





Fisherman Joseph Pedrero lost 11 members of his family, including his wife, children and mother, during Typhoon Haiyan.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS


Fisherman Joseph Pedrero lost 11 family members during Haiyan last year 
As Typhoon Hagupit approaches, he's worried about what he may lose next
Last year Super Typhoon Haiyan whipped up waves, catching people off guard
This year they're heeding warnings to take precautions, to leave if possible











Affected by the storm? Send your photos to CNN iReport, but please stay safe.
Tacloban, Philippines (CNN) -- For Joseph Pedrero, the thought of another massive tropical storm bearing down on his home in Tacloban is traumatic.
The 46-year-old fisherman lost 11 members of his family, including his wife, his three children and his mother, when Typhoon Haiyan lashed the central Philippines in November last year.
FOLLOW: Typhoon Tracker
'We weren't prepared last time. We were confident we'd be safe because we have a stone house and everything we need with us," he said.
"But we did not expect that a storm surge would be coming and take all our family away. We were not given information that a great wave would come."


Super Typhoon Hagupit






Typhoon expected to hit Saturday evening





Manila in path of Super Typhoon Hagupit

Tragically, only six of his family members were ever found -- and they're now buried close to his modest home.
It's difficult to look Joseph in the eyes. It's impossible to understand what he has been through.
READ: Typhoon Hagupit heads towards Philippines
Escaping the coast
A year on and what remains of his family are leaving their homes to move inland to stay with relatives.
"I've been following developments on the radio this time," he said. "The government is now providing better information. I'm scared but at least I know what is going on. Yesterday, the mayor visited us and told us to vacate our homes for our safety."
Tacloban's mayor, Alfred Romualdez, has ordered the forced evacuation of several coastal "barangays," or neighborhoods as a precaution -- hundreds of people. These areas are usually made up of rudimentary shacks -- exactly the type of structures washed away during Haiyan -- owned by many of the area's poorest residents.
The local police are now doing sweeps of the area ensuring that people comply, with women and children being prioritized and taken to dozens of evacuation centers around the area -- part of a massive operation across the country that has seen almost half a million people in the path of storm moved to safety, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
"When I took the decision a few days ago to close schools, people questioned me. But now they realize I wanted students to have time to return to their families in other areas so that they could prepare properly," said Romualdez.
He said one of the biggest problems last year was the sheer volume of people they had to help.
"Many were coming in from outside Tacloban and saying they were from here," he said. "When we asked them which barangay they came from, they said 'Barangay 19 or 23!' But when we asked the barangay captain if he knew them, he'd often say no.
"But for humanitarian reasons, we'd have to shelter them. But we could only do this for a day or so then send them away."
READ: Typhoon Hagupit a reminder of past horror
City subdued ahead of storm

We weren't prepared last time. We were confident we'd be safe because we have a stone house and everything we need with us.Joseph Pedrero

It's now Saturday morning and the center of Tacloban should usually be a bustling hub of activity, the scene is eerie. Barely a handful of people are on the streets, with most businesses shuttered. The few shops that remain open seem to have plentiful supplies on their shelves, and no real queues to speak of. Everyone seems more organized.
People respect what they're being told. Haiyan is all too fresh in the memory.
Like many others people in Tacloban, it took Joseph months to rebuild his home -- and his life -- after such an appalling tragedy.
Sadly he expects to rebuild his home once again if the storm reaches anything like the velocity it did a year ago. Even if Hagupit -- known as Ruby here -- hits further north as current predictions suggest, the sheer size of it will be felt here in Tacloban.
Joseph seems resigned to this.
"We're sad. We fear this typhoon will destroy everything again," he said. "We're still rebuilding and now another typhoon is coming."
Asked if he's considered moving away from an area prone to these kind of destructive storms, he replied: "No, I can't do anything because my life is here. I work on the sea.
"But now we're willing to evacuate when we hear about these storms."
And that is the biggest difference between this year and last.























































Part of complete coverage on 
Typhoon Hagupit


CNN storm tracker





Get the latest satellite images and data as CNN tracks Typhoon Hagupit.



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updated 9:01 PM EST, Sat December 6, 2014




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Typhoon Hagupit's projected path

updated 8:58 PM EST, Sat December 6, 2014




CNN Meteorologist Tom Sater tracks the path of Typhoon Hagupit as it drenches the Philippines.



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Powered by ferocious winds, Typhoon Hagupit is whipping towards central Philippines and could affect the same area hit by the deadly Typhoon Haiyan just 13 months ago.



Tacloban braces for Hagupit

updated 7:57 PM EST, Thu December 4, 2014




A year after Haiyan ravaged Tacloban, its residents again prepare for a huge storm. CNN affiliate 9TV reports.



Year's worst storm moves in

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Typhoon Hagupit is bearing down on the Philippines. Meteorologist Tom Sater looks at where it might make landfall.



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Filmmaker and Philippine native Jeff Manibay shares his personal story of surviving Typhoon Haiyan.



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Meteorologist Tom Sater looks back at the chaos brought by Typhoon Haiyan one year after it devastated the Philippines.



Panorama shows Haiyan wreckage

updated 8:12 PM EST, Tue November 19, 2013




A dozen body bags line the street in Tacloban -- one of the towns hardest hit by Super Typhoon Haiyan -- as locals walk through the destruction of what used to be their homes.



'The Filipino spirit is alive among us'

updated 5:02 AM EST, Tue November 19, 2013




CNN's Airmie Jarin-Bennett, an expat Filipino, returned to her native land after Typhoon Haiyan. Nothing prepared her for what she found there.



Drone view of Haiyan's devastation 

updated 8:49 AM EST, Mon November 18, 2013




Karl Penhaul reports from the middle of the Tacloban devastation using a drone camera to get a bird's eye view. 



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Video shows moment typhoon hit 

updated 2:45 PM EST, Sun November 17, 2013




This video shows how strong the storm surge was during Super Typhoon Haiyan. 



Photos: Typhoon Haiyan

updated 6:54 PM EST, Wed November 27, 2013




The storm affected 4.3 million people in 36 provinces and displaced more than 340,000. 


 

















   
     










