2013-11-12          John W        John W's previous articles

(Comments welcome here)

How a school principal's wisdom and determination
saved a whole town from Philippine typhoon

On Friday November 7, 2013, thousands of people died in the Philippine city of Tacloban when it was hit by a super typhoon. But in a neighboring small town which also bore the full force of 300kph (195mph) winds, not one life was lost - thanks to the wisdom and determination of the town's secondary school principal Rodel Carino

Rodel's town was devastated in 1991 by Typhoon Uring which claimed more than 5,000 lives nationwide. Among the dead were eight of Rodel's students, including one of his  daughters

This tragedy energized Rodel to do something that would help prevent such tragedies in the future. He worked tirelessly for the building of an extra large school gymnasium that would withstand the strongest typhoon. He had the walls made of triple-brick, and supported by a series of buttresses, not unlike ancient European cathedrals, and similar to the famous Paoay church at the northern tip of the Philippines

When Rodel first proposed his idea, he was laughed at and told such a project was unnecessary and too expensive. But he persevered, badgering local and national authorities and corporations for funding....even obtaining some funding from overseas agencies. When he met with opposition, ridicule and failure, the memory of his daughter and other students kept him going

His project took more than twelve years to complete, but eventually it was opened in 2004 and has served as an emergency shelter for his town on a number of occasions. The people of the town are used to a cathedral like bell sounding when a typhoon approaches. Single rings of the bell mean "get ready"; double rings  mean "head for the gym"

The gym can house more than two thousand people, has a kitchen and large  toilet-shower facility, has a permanent supply of mattresses, emergency food and medical items, as well as its own power generator and water tanks. The town itself also has a well-tested anti-looting plan for emergency times when people go to the gym

When the November 7 typhoon struck, Rodel's town suffered not one fatality, because the whole township was in the gym. It was like Noah's Ark

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This story is just a parable, not a true story, but please God there are some Rodels in the Philippines who will make this story come true, and may there also be Rodels in other countries which are prone to frequent typhoons.....given that climate change is going to increase the frequency and intensity of such typhoons