For Tacloban survivor, Yolanda nightmare remains vivid, humbling

"Nung November 7, napakainit."

This is what 48-year-old Edwin Pornias remembers with great clarity, still in disbelief even after two years since super typhoon Yolanda devastated Tacloban.

The disbelief stems from the realization that the wind can change direction in a second, taking with it one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded.

"Lumipat yung hangin... dito na sa bandang Pacific Ocean na yung hangin. Sabi ko, patay tayo dito. Ginising ko na sila lahat," Edwin tells GMA News Online in an interview.

What followed was a grueling struggle of survival. Destruction chased Edwin and his family -- the buildings they climbed and subsequently left shattered behind them. Every shelter they sought seemed to be on the verge of falling apart.

Edwin managed to swim to an elementary school, where the strong current couldn't reach them. The water was taller than them, he said, and it was murky.

But what was more horrifying than the strength and depth of the current is what it took with it.

"Marami kaming nakikitang lumulutang na tao, mga hayop at bagay," he recalled. "Sa may highway kasi yung bahay namin, kaya doon dumadaan yung baha."

It was only later when he saw the effects on his body of swimming through the water -- he had plenty of wounds due to the objects that slammed against him.

"Mahirap kalaban ang tubig," Edwin said. "Napakahirap. Nagpapasalamat po kami, buo parin ang pamilya ko."

Edwin is humbled by his luck, having witnessed the state of the survivors that he encountered the day Yolanda struck.

"Ang daming mga sugatan. May babaeng nagpatulong sa akin. Natusok siya ng kawayan sa bibig, tumagos sa tenga," he says, horror etching his voice.

Other memories jump at him when he recalls the traumatizing ordeal: a girl that he estimated had at least 40 wounds, naked and shivering, and a 10-year-old boy whose scalp had been partially torn off.

"Basta -- grabe talaga," he insisted, spluttering. "'Di mo na-iimagine. Grabe talaga. Mabibiyak ang puso mo."

"Ang tapang nila. Black na yung bibig, dilaw na ang mga sugat. Buhay pa sila, humihinga pa," he added.

Edwin said he always keeps an eye out for them, but he never got a glimpse of them again.

Two years later, Tacloban still bears the scars of the storm, but has already begun getting up.

However, amid the houses that have been repaired, Edwin's home remains mostly in shambles.

He said he fixed it enough to be habitable, but he wanted to keep the reminder of what happened.

"Yung mga ginamit kong pang-ayos ng bahay, yun pa ring mga kahoy at yero ng bahay ko. Ayokong mawala...ang tagal na naming bahay to," Edwin shares.

"At tingin ko, dapat maalala ng mga tao yung nangyari," he adds, maintaining that survivors should be reminded that they survived.

Edwin was asked if he wanted to transfer to a housing site, but he refused.

"Anong gagawin ko doon? Dito ang buhay ko," he said. "Yung mga tao dito, wala namang may gustong umalis. Dito ang mga hanapbuhay nila."

Things are almost back to normal for the Pornias family. The 48-year-old has his old job as a driver. His family also reestablished their sari-sari store in front of their house.

"Eto, naka-move-on din kami," he said. --JST, GMA News