The damage caused by super typhoon Odette has been felt by my family.
My wife's sister's house was almost completely destroyed, we were told last night.
After five days of damage, I finally got in touch with them.
They said that they couldn't charge their smartphones due to the blackout. It was hard to find a place where they could charge their phones.
In addition, there seemed to be a limited number of places where they could send and receive messages.
My wife's sister's family and my son and daughter had evacuated to her husband's sister's house and were safe.
I am relieved to know that they are safe for now.
However, the house she live in was almost completely destroyed, so she will be in a difficult situation until it is rebuilt.
My wife's sister's house had block walls, so I thought that even if the roof was blown off, the walls would remain, but looking at the photos, the walls themselves are broken due to lack of strength, probably from the lack of reinforcement.
However, the foundation seems to be intact, so there is a possibility that the building can be rebuilt relatively quickly if building materials are available.
However, I don't know if they will be able to secure materials at all since houses have been completely or partially destroyed in a wide area including Cebu Island.
The restoration of electricity alone will take more than three months, so we will continue to live in inconvenience for the time being.
Fortunately, my wife's sister lives in the countryside, so she has access to well water.
As for the remittance, my wife's cousin is in Cebu City, so I was able to send money to her bank account and have her withdraw it, and then deliver it to my sister.
With the money, I think they can live for the time being, including buying food.
Japan has been experiencing an increasing number of catastrophic disasters in recent years.
The one with the highest risk is the earthquake directly under the Tokyo metropolitan area. According to seismologists, the Nankai Trough earthquake is unlikely to occur for another five years. However, a major earthquake directly under the Tokyo metropolitan area could happen at any time.
Let's not think of this disaster in Cebu as a fire on the other side of the river, but rather as a reminder to be prepared. In addition to water and food, it is necessary to have a certain amount of cash on hand. Electricity and telecommunication support a cashless society, but if these are down, we may not be able to buy things or receive services without cash.
Anyway, let's continue to provide support to the families until this disaster calms down.
