Tourist who spent birthday in Siargao recounts Odette experience

A resident of Quezon City spent her “most meaningful birthday” stranded on Siargao Island, as she received help and kindness from the locals even as they were the ones directly affected by Typhoon Odette’s onslaught.

In an interview with GMA News Online, Justinne Camungao said that she flew to Siargao on December 11 along with five other friends for what was supposed to be an eight-day vacation, without any idea of the oncoming storm.

Three days later, at their beachfront hotel, the management announced that they should prepare for evacuation as severe tropical storm Rai was about to enter the Philippine area of responsibility.

“Actually medyo chill lang kasi iniisip namin na okay, kasi beachfront so baka kailangan kaming ipa-evacuate just in case na malakas ‘yung bagyo. Pero, we weren’t expecting or hindi nagbigay ng vibe na ganoon kalakas ‘yung bagyo,” she said, adding that they were even trying to book a massage at the time.

(We were chill because we just thought that we only needed to evacuate because we were staying in a beachfront hotel. We were not expecting that the storm would be that strong.)

After they were transferred to another hotel in town, Camungao said they only bought some chips and water as snacks in case there were no open restaurants.

Rain was only lightly falling that night, and they did not anticipate what was going to happen the next few days during their stay on the island.

On the morning of December 16, they were again told they had to be transferred to another, more stable establishment that could accommodate them; they found the Lamari Siargao hotel.

At 1:30 p.m., Odette made landfall in Siargao, and the hotel became their home for the longest five days of their lives.

“Medyo hindi ko alam kung tinatawa na lang namin ‘yung takot namin kasi kumakain pa kami. Habang pumapagpag [yung fence na bumagsak], kumakain na lang kami kasi nagse-stress eating na lang kami,” Camungao said.

(I didn’t know if we were just laughing off our fright because we were still eating. As the fallen fence kept hitting our wall, we kept stress-eating.)

The next day, Camungao and her friends discovered just how bad Odette hit  the island. As they walked, they saw fallen trees and utility poles, destroyed houses, and people sleeping on the streets.

They also learned that their December 18 flight home was not possible, with Siargao Airport suffering extensive damage and flights being canceled.

'Most meaningful' birthday celebration

With no flights available, Camungao and her friends were still in Siargao on Sunday, her 29th birthday, at the Lamari resort with 22 other guests and 29 staff.

While still trying to absorb the effects of Typhoon Odette, she was surprised by the resort staff, who presented her with a birthday cake and sang her a birthday song.

“Bigla kong naisip ‘yung family ko kasi birthday ko na eh, medyo celebratory feels na sila. Doon na ako mas umiyak talaga,” she said.

(I thought of my family because it was already my birthday and everyone was celebrating. That was when I cried even more.)

By then, she said, she had experienced firsthand the kindness of the resort staff as they cared for their guests despite the storm’s aftermath and not even being able to get updates from their own families.

“Bilib talaga ako sa mga tao doon kasi nagagawa pa nila mag-joke, nakaka-smile pa sila. Hands down talaga ako sa hotel namin kasi sila pa ‘yung nagsasabi na, ‘Makakauwi rin kayo, ma’am’,” she added.

(I’m really amazed by the hotel staff that they could still joke around and smile. They were even the ones who were telling us that we would be able to get home.)

The resort owner was able to offer them a flight back to Manila the next day. But Justinne's thoughts remain with the people of Siargao.

“Hindi ako makapaniwala na sobrang okay dito, tapos ‘yung mga taong naiwan doon kahit malinis na water, wala sila. Pagdating ko dito sa Manila, hindi ko kaya mag-fit in sa mga tao na okay. Kahit sa food, hindi na ako masyadong makakain,” she said tearfully.

(I couldn’t believe that it was fine here, while in Siargao they don’t even have clean water. When I came here, I couldn’t fit in with people who were OK. I couldn't eat properly.)

When she got home, Camungao immediately checked with the resort staff if they were also able to get home and be with their families. Thankfully, they were all safe.

At least 19 fatalities were reported on Siargao Island following the onslaught of Typhoon Odette, Surigao del Norte Representative Francisco Jose Matugas II said on Wednesday.

Matugas also said that the storm affected almost 99% of the population of Siargao, while around 80% of municipal buildings were heavily damaged. — BM, GMA News