Woman loses husband, children to Tino flood; wonders about missing mom

Typhoon Tino has left massive damage to Liloan, Cebu, as the overflowing of Cotcot River caused flooding in the area. 

In Emil Sumangil’s report in “24 Oras” on Thursday, some of the survivors can be found mourning in a funeral parlor, and one of them is Krizza Espra, who lost her husband and three children, aged 1, 3, and 8 years old. She also lost her father and nephew to the calamity. 

“I cannot explain it…We woke up to an ankle-deep flood, but the water level continued to rise after a few minutes. We went up to our roof, and the building beside us collapsed on us. We were all swept away,” she recalled. 

Espra is not just mourning for his dead loved ones, but she’s also worried about what could have happened to his mother, aunt, and two other nephews who remain missing. 

“I hope you can help me. I still don’t know how we can recover from this. We lost our home, we lost everything,” she said. 

“I hope someone will send a crane to excavate because it’s only the residents who are looking for the missing persons. Many people are still buried down there,” she added. 

Meanwhile, several members of the Philippine Air Force immediately conducted a search and retrieval operation in a subdivision in Liloan. They were met with muddy streets and stacked vehicles. 

Residents are hoping that the vehicles will be cleared from the vehicles so aid can be delivered right away. 

In another subdivision, a family went back to rescue their pet dog on the roof. –Vince Angelo Ferreras/NB, GMA Integrated News