Typhoon Odette struck on Dec. 15, 2021. Storms of this magnitude are rare in Southern Leyte. 2013's Typhoon Yolanda was 130 km farther north. Most storms are further north. The warnings came early enough and most of the people in my village went to evacuation centers. Some, including me, stayed to protect the houses from theft, since our house was built massively, many were with us while the highest point of the typhoon reached us to seek refuge. The center of the typhoon hit land about 20 km south of us. There a whole village completely disappeared ( see pictures ) there are only stones left. Further south the typhoon caused heavy damage. The electricity and water supply collapsed. Since I am equipped with emergency generators and a solar system, we were a contact point for cell phone stores (very important) and our store could continue to supply cold drinks. Our part of the community got electricity again after 8 weeks, other parts of the village had to wait up to 7 months until the electrics worked again. In my direct neighborhood I could help some with roof sheets. With the help of the German-Filipino Friendship Association we were able to organize a small donation campaign and distribute some relief goods (150 packages). Fortunately there were no deaths in this region. 3 months later, however, after days of rain, a 150 m long bridge with the village below was washed into the sea by a landslide, killing about 500 people. Due to the many landslides, many roads were closed for days.
