Published : Nov. 11, 2013 - 17:33
슈퍼 태풍 하이옌이 강타한 필리핀 중부 레이테주(州) 주도 타클로반에서 10일(현지시간) 대형선박이 파도에 밀려와 주택가의 폐허 위에 걸터앉아 있다. 하이옌의 급습으로 필리핀에서는 사망ㆍ실종자가 1만2천여명이나 발생한 것으로 추산되고 있으며 420여만명의 이재민들이 단전ㆍ단수와 식량부족 등으로 고통받고 있다. (AP-연합뉴스)
필리핀 중남부 지역을 강타한 초대형 태풍 하이 옌이 11일(현지시간) 오전 베트남으로 빠져나가면서 1만2천여명이라는 어마어마한 사망자를 낸 이번 태풍의 참상이 속속 드러나고 있다.
해안 도시 타클로반을 비롯한 피해 지역에서는 곳곳에 시신이 나뒹구는 등 생지 옥을 방불케 하는 모습이라고 외신들은 전했다.
이 기록적인 재해에 국제사회도 일제히 긴급 지원에 나서고 있지만 도로와 공항 등 인프라 시설이 거의 마비된 상태여서 본격적 지원이 이뤄질 때까지 적지 않은 시 일이 걸릴 것으로 보인다.
◇ 대피소도 속수무책…주민들 '몰살' = 핵심 피해 지역인 타클로반에 구조대와 취재진의 발길이 닿으면서 피해 참상도 드러나고 있다.
해안 도로를 가득 덮은 뿌리째 뽑힌 야자나무들, 물 위로 떠밀려 올라온 선박, 폭탄을 맞은 듯 산산이 부서진 건물들은 최대 순간 풍속이 무려 379㎞에 달했던 하이옌의 위력을 여실히 보여줬다고 CNN은 전했다.
AP통신은 하늘에서 내려다본 타클로반은 몇개의 건물만 남아 거대한 쓰레기장처럼 보였다고 묘사했다.
시신 수습도 제대로 이뤄지지 않아 땅 위는 물론 심지어 높은 나뭇가지에까지 시신들이 걸려 있었다고 AP는 보도했다.
이번 태풍으로 인명 피해가 특히 컸던 것은 많은 이들이 모인 대피소조차 태풍의 위력 앞에서 속수무책으로 무너져내렸기 때문이라는 지적도 나왔다.
필리핀 정부는 하이옌 상륙 전까지 80만명을 대피시켰다.
그러나 많은 대피소가 완전히 부서지면서 안에 있던 사람들이 대거 익사하거나 물에 휩쓸려갔다고 현지 관리들은 전했다.
◇ "내일 아닌 오늘 도와주세요" = 피해 주민들은 식수와 식량은 물론 쉴 곳도 없어 외부의 도움을 애타게 기다리고 있다.
많은 이들이 먹을 것을 찾아 폐허가 된 가게를 뒤지거나 잃어버린 가족을 찾아 잔햇더미를 파헤치는 안타까운 모습이 곳곳에서 목격됐다고 CNN, BBC 등 외신은 전했다.
이번 태풍 피해로 무려 1만명 이상이 숨진 것으로 추산되는 가운데 필리핀 정부 가 확인한 사망자는 아직 255명에 지나지 않는다.
폐쇄된 공항에서 머물던 현지 주민 마지나 페르난데스(여)씨는 베니그노 아키노 대통령을 만나 갈라진 목소리로 "내일이 아닌 지금 당장 국제사회의 도움이 이곳에 닿을 수 있게 해 달라. 이곳은 지옥보다 더 심하다"고 호소했다.
타클로반의 세인트 폴 병원에는 부상자들이 몰려들었지만 전기가 끊어지고 각종 의료 물자도 바닥나 간단한 응급조치 외에는 치료가 불가능한 상황이다.
이곳의 한 의사는 CNN에 "(의료 물자) 공급이 제대로 되지 않고 있다. 이대로 견뎌낼 수가 없다"고 토로했다.
필리핀 정부와 국제사회가 식량과 의약품, 텐트 등 긴급 물품 지원에 나섰지만 태풍에 날려온 잔햇더미가 도로 곳곳에 쌓여 차량 접근도 쉽지 않다.
유엔은 AP통신에 "구호품을 보내고 있지만 피해가 심한 지역에 접근하는 게 쉽지 않다"고 밝혔다.
◇ 치안 부재에 주민들 자경단 조직 = 일부 주민들의 약탈이 '생존' 수준을 넘어서면서 치안 부재 상황에 따른 불안감 또한 커지고 있다.
CNN에 따르면 약탈 행위는 식료품 같은 생필품에서 시작됐지만 이제는 냉장고 같은 전자제품을 비롯한 다른 물건으로까지 확대되는 분위기다.
이에 일부 주민은 총기 등 무기를 들고 자경단을 조직, 불침번까지 서면서 재산과 가족 보호에 나섰다.
자경단을 조직한 사업가 리처드 영은 "(그들이) 내 아이와 가족을 건들지만 않 는다면 문제가 없지만 만에 하나 우리가 위협받는다면 나는 (총을) 쏠 준비가 돼 있 다"고 말했다.
필리핀 정부는 이에 따라 타클로반 일대에 국가 비상사태 또는 계엄령을 발령하 는 것을 검토하고 있다고 밝혔다.
한편 이 같은 절망적 상황 속에서도 한 20대 여성이 타클로반 공항에 마련된 대 피소에서 딸을 낳아 주위 사람들에게 한 줄기 희망을 선사했다고 AP는 전했다.
Typhoon-hit victims in Philippines plead for aid
Stunned survivors of one of the most powerful typhoons ever to make landfall picked through the remains of their homes Monday and pleaded for food and medicine as the Philippines struggled to deal with what is likely its deadliest natural disaster.
Authorities said at least 2 million people in 41 provinces had been affected by Friday's disaster and at least 23,000 houses had been damaged or destroyed. Large areas along the coast had been transformed into twisted piles of debris, blocking roads and trapping decomposing bodies underneath. Ships were tossed inland, cars and trucks swept out to sea and bridges and ports washed away.
“In some cases the devastation has been total,” said Secretary to the Cabinet Rene Almendras.
In Leyte province, the badly hit city of Tacloban resembled a garbage dump from the air, punctuated only by a few concrete buildings that remained standing.
The official death toll stood at just over 250 people, but two provincial officials said Sunday it could reach 10,000 or more. The disaster has shattered transportation and communication links, as well as local governance structures, making it hard to come up with a definite tally. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said “we pray” that the death toll is less than 10,000.
“Please tell my family I'm alive,” said Erika Mae Karakot, a survivor on Leyte island, as she lined up for aid. “We need water and medicine because a lot of the people we are with are wounded. Some are suffering from diarrhea and dehydration due to shortage of food and water.”
Even though authorities had evacuated some 800,000 people ahead of the typhoon, the death toll was predicted to be high because many evacuation centers _ brick-and-mortar schools, churches and government buildings _ could not withstand the winds and water surges. Officials said people who had huddled in these buildings drowned or were swept away.
The U.S. military dispatched water, generators and a contingent of Marines to the worst-hit city along the country's remote eastern seaboard, the first outside help in what will swell into a major international relief mission in the coming days. Two U.S. C-130 transport planes flew from Manila's Vilamor air base to Tacloban.
Survivors wandered through the remains of their flattened wooden homes, hoping to salvage belongings or find loved ones.
Residents have stripped malls, shops and homes of food, water and consumer goods. Officials said some of the looting smacked of desperation but in other cases items taken included TVs, refrigerators, Christmas trees and a treadmill. An Associated Press reporter in the town said he saw around 400 special forces and soldiers patrolling downtown to guard against further chaos.
“We're afraid that it's going to get dangerous in town because relief goods are trickling in very slow,” said Bobbie Womack, an American missionary and longtime Tacloban resident from Athens, Tennessee. “I know it's a massive, massive undertaking to try to feed a town of over 150,000 people. They need to bring in shiploads of food.”
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said he was considering declaring a state of emergency or martial law in Tacloban. A state of emergency usually includes curfews, price and food supply controls, military or police checkpoints and increased security patrols.
Haiyan hit the eastern seaboard of the Philippines on Friday and quickly barreled across its central islands, packing winds of 235 kph (147 mph) that gusted to 275 kph (170 mph), and a storm surge of 6 meters (20 feet).
It inflicted serious damage to at least six islands in the middle of the eastern seaboard, with Leyte, Samar and the northern part of Cebu appearing to bear the brunt of the storm.
Video from Eastern Samar province's Guiuan township _ the first area where the typhoon made landfall _ showed a trail of devastation similar to Tacloban. Many houses were flattened and roads were strewn with debris and uprooted trees. The ABS-CBN video showed several bodies on the street, covered with blankets.
“I have no house, I have no clothes. I don't know how I will restart my life. I am so confused,” an unidentified woman said, crying. “I don't know what happened to us. We are appealing for help. Whoever has a good heart, I appeal to you _ please help Guiuan.”
The United Nations said it was sending supplies but access to the worst hit areas was a challenge.
“Reaching the worst affected areas is very difficult, with limited access due to the damage caused by the typhoon to infrastructure and communications,” said UNICEF Philippines Representative Tomoo Hozumi.
The storm's sustained winds weakened to 120 kph (74 mph) as the typhoon made landfall in northern Vietnam early Monday after crossing the South China Sea, according to the Hong Kong meteorological observatory. Authorities there evacuated hundreds of thousands of people, but there were no reports of significant damage or injuries.
It was downgraded to a tropical storm as it entered southern China later Monday, and weather officials forecast torrential rain over the coming 24 hours across southern China. Guangxi officials advised fishermen to stay onshore.
The Philippines, an archipelago nation of more than 7,000 islands, is annually buffeted by tropical storms and typhoons, which are called hurricanes and cyclones elsewhere. The nation is in the northwestern Pacific, right in the path of the world's No. 1 typhoon generator, according to meteorologists. The archipelago's exposed eastern seaboard often bears the brunt.
Even by the standards of the Philippines, however, Haiyan is a catastrophe of epic proportions and has shocked the impoverished and densely populated nation of 96 million people. Its winds were among the strongest ever recorded, and it appears to have killed more people than the previous deadliest Philippine storm, Thelma, in which about 5,100 people died in the central Philippines in 1991.
The country's deadliest disaster on record was the 1976 magnitude-7.9 earthquake that triggered a tsunami in the Moro Gulf in the southern Philippines, killing 5,791 people.
Pope Francis led tens of thousands of people at the Vatican in prayer for the victims. The Philippines has the largest number of Catholics in Asia, and Filipinos are one of Rome's biggest immigrant communities.
Tacloban, in the east-central Philippines, is near the Red Beach on Leyte Island where U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur waded ashore in 1944 during World War II and fulfilled his famous pledge: “I shall return.”
It was the first city liberated from the Japanese by U.S. and Filipino forces and served as the Philippines' temporary capital for several months. It is also the hometown of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos, whose nephew, Alfred Romualdez, is the city's mayor. (AP)