A Survivor’s Story

Advocacies, Military 645 comments

Lieutenant Colonel Fermin Carangan is the Commanding Officer of TOG 8, the Air Force unit tasked to provide air support for the islands of Samar and Leyte. On the morning of Friday, November 8, he and his troops were in their office near the Tacloban Airport on red alert, having been informed of an incoming Super-Storm named Haiyan (local name: Yolanda). Here’s how he narrated his ordeal to Lt Col Allan Taguba, as Haiyan unleashed her fury on the city of Tacloban on that fateful Friday morning.

We were out of the office at 6 am Friday observing. Winds brought by Yolanda were already strong around that time. We (the Air Force troops in Tacloban) were prepared for the possibility of rescue missions days before the expected landfall of Yolanda. Just before 7 am, the rains started to pour, so we took shelter.

2h28

Around the same time, we noticed that water was slowly entering our office, so we went out again. Then suddenly, we saw that the water was getting higher and higher, until we were forced to get up the ceilings of the building. We had to bore holes on the ceiling just to get up there, and I was the last one up.

Suddenly the building collapsed and I saw my men falling into the surging water and very strong winds. There was also no more roof on top of the building. I was able to hold on to a piece of wood – a truss which I forcibly removed just before I was taken by waves and the strong current.

More damage in Tacloban

I didn’t notice that my two junior officers were now gone. Both were fresh graduates from the PMA, and they were beside me before we were swallowed by the water. Then I saw one of my soldiers trying to hold on to an uncollapsed wall of another destroyed building. I tried to reach for him but the current was too strong and there was confusion and hysteria.

I was going farther and farther out into the sea and all I saw were tips of coconut trees starting to disappear into the swelling water. Suddenly, I saw a child hugging tightly to a floating coconut tree. By a stroke of luck, the current led me to the child, and I was able to pluck him from his very unfortunate situation. He then held on to the piece of wood I was myself holding on to. Then we floated until we were out there in the middle of nowhere.

This photo was taken as the storm neared Leyte.

At sea, we went through another hell. We were slapped by waves, great big waves from all directions. We were also toyed by swirling winds. And we couldn’t help but drink a lot of salt water. I was now getting so tired. And so was Miguel (the boy’s name). He was just 7 years old. Too young to die, I thought. I thought of my family. I prayed to God to take care of my wife and kids. I thought I’ve done to them what every father could – that is, to take good care of them.

I also thought of my men. Days before, I had told them to ensure the safety of their families, especially those in Tacloban since the city could be hit hard and everyone of us would be busy in the rescue missions after Yolanda. They might not have time to check on their families during the rescue. Then I thought of the two new graduates of PMA 2013. I thought that if something happened to me, at least I had been able to give professional and honorable service for a time. And that I’ve done enough since graduation. These two young guys were just starting and still have a very bright future ahead.

2h13

Then I looked at Miguel. He was trembling hard due to the cold. His very young body could not just cope up with the elements. He said, “Kuya, I will sleep now. I’m so tired already.” Then I thought, maybe I survived because of this child. Without him I could have given up. Maybe he’s the reason I’m still alive because God wants me to make sure this child will live. I shouted at Miguel’s ears: “Don’t sleep! You can do it. Look, we are near land already.” Then I pointed at what I thought was another wall of swell, just to lift the spirit of Miguel. And then I realized that it was indeed the shoreline!! I thought there really is a Powerful Being!

The two survived Storm Haiyan and the rough seas between Leyte and Samar during the onslaught of the typhoon. They floated around the bay near Tacloban airport and were eventually rescued along the shorelines of Basey, Samar at around 1pm the same day. They had been floating for around 6 hours before they were rescued. Basey and Tacloban are separated by the San Pablo and San Pedro Bay. The devastation they saw along the Basey shoreline is another story worth telling. Some of Lt Col Carangan’s men are still missing. These men were supposed to take part in the relief and rescue operations for Leyte and Samar. Alas, it turned out that they too would be the very victims to Haiyan’s wrath.

For more stories on Super-Typhoon Yolanda, pls visit:

(Photos courtesy of AFP, Reuters)

645 comments

  1. I salute you, Sir!! To God be the Glory! Just last july after our schooling i visited palo, leyte and tacloban (for the first time) with my classmate who resides there. it was fun pero ngayon nakadapa na ang buong lugar and i’m thinking of going back there to help… thanks for this blog, it inspires me being in the uniformed service..

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    1. thanks much, pauline. it is the appreciation from our fellowmen that keep our people in the military serving, despite the difficulties and frustrations. thank you once again.

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  9. ” I believe in sun even when it is not shining, I believe in God even if he is silent. God bless you, Sir and your family. Keep going. You are in my prayers.

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  10. A PROUD AND A BIG SALUTE TO YOU, SIR!!! Please take care also of Miguel, Sir, for he may have lost some of his family members. Tell him that God loves him so much and the Lord has a special mission for him. On behalf of the millions of Filipinos, I say THANK YOU, SIR!!! GOD BLESS YOU MORE!

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  11. I hope this gets to Lt. Col. Carangan:
    Sir, when you were still preparing for Typhoon Yolanda, did you HONESTLY have any idea how high would the surge go? Or was there any advance information being sent to you and/or your unit about how high was the surge? If your answer is yes, what was the estimated height of the surge?
    I am asking this question because it seems to me that everybody in the area, particularly at airport area AND Barangay 88, DID NOT know that the surge would reach 40 ft high as reported by CNN at the time of the typhoon’s landfall. Had the authorities knew about it, they would have not used the 1-floor school building in Brgy 88 as evacuation site.

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  12. our hearts cried as we read the survivor’s story, but it uplift the spirit for such a courageous act… we salute you sir! (ty to cbholganza for sharing this, we’ll send help in our own little way.

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  13. I like this story most. This guy showed gallantry by not using gun, but by using the instinct of a man who wants to give a boy more time on earth. I was so touched with this story as I am hopeless to be of help to people in distress. If only i can recommend him to be the President. I want him to receive a distinguish award.

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  15. Sir, not only are you an officer and a gentleman, but you are worth emulating by all Filipinos. That’s the Filipino spirit!!! Your family must be so proud of you. Mabuhay po kayo.

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  16. i did not noticed my tears are falling but your indeed an angel to the boy!!
    Your a good example to the community!! keep it up SIR.. God bless you always..

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  17. our hearts cried as we read the survivors story,but it uplifts a heart for such a courageous act.we salute you sir!(ty to cbholganza for sharing this.well send help in our own little way.

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  18. Double hand salute for you, sir. God has a plan for a good officer like u…..Miguel, u are an angel sent from heaven…..God Bless both of you.

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  19. I admire you for your courage and determination to survive. You saved the life of Miguel and he will always be grateful for your bravery. Sorry to hear of the sad loss of your colleagues.Take care.

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  20. Sir I am an instructor in PMA, may we pls know who these two graduates are… We are all worried but we are praying sa hard…

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      1. ow, thank God for that sir… Just now, I was trying to contact Lt Bonacua of the Army, also a graduate of class 2013 but he’s unable to reach…

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  21. salute to you sir and to your men! When people are praying He hears us, this is the only weapon we can hold on. God bless Pilipinas!

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  23. Teary eyed and my heart aches reading this survivors story. Praise God they’re still alive and be a witness that God helps and protect them. although my town in northern part of Iloilo was devastated by the typhoon, my family was lucky enough to survive. houses can be built but those lost souls will be forever gone. my sympathy and prayers to those who lost their lives during the typhoon.

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  27. Dear Lt. Col Charly,
    I am Eileen Macapanas Cosby in Washington D.C. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your work and Col. Boysie’s heroism. We are trying to send assistance to villages near Guiuan who do not have any coverage. Do you know if there are plans for recovery efforts out of Guiuan? There are no reports of rescue efforts that I can see. Everything is getting bottlenecked in Tacloban when it does not need to. The airstrip in Guiuan would be an ideal place to fly a plane and serve survivors of Salcedo and Butig where my family is from. Do you have any reports of what is happening on the ground there? I cannot reach my cousins.

    We of course are concerned for all the survivors no matter where they are from but I made a promise to my cousin to get resources to Salcedo. He was one of the officials in charge of the evacuation in the area. The evening before the storm was the last time I talked to him and I want to honor that promise, no matter what.

    Would you please let us know who is on the ground and if they are really helping or just doing bureaucratic assessments? Shelter from rain is a priority now, right?

    Thank you,
    Eileen

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    1. thanks, eileen. you are right. guian has not been reached, much less served. supplies are slowly being pushed out of urban tacloban, and i sympathize with those on the eastern coast of distant samar – from guian to balangiga to gen macarthur – for they too absorbed the full blast of the first landfall. pictures from recon choppers show massive destruction in guian.
      but to give you an idea of the supply chain here, the army division in bicol has also been tasked to support the logistics needs of samar. they are mobilizing there to facilitate distribution thru the phil-japan friendship highway. i too have distant relatives in guian, and am interested to know what’s going on.
      but seeing as it is that a chopper recon has been to guian, plus its proximity to tacloban, i’m sure that they have been ferrying supplies via heli. i will try to get more information for you,but rest assured that people are moving mountains to help our brothers there.
      btw, there’s another storm coming up, so you’re right, shelter from rain will be a priority.

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  28. May God bless and help you all. I will give money specifically to my Church (LDS) for this. I know they are already there helping.

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  29. thanks for this! it is not often that we hear the stories of our men in uniform/enlisted personnel (risking their lives for the country as they have sworn to do). it is heartwarming to know that there is still an abundance of selfless acts in the midst of this tragedy. My prayers are with you, your family, Lt. Col. Carangan, and all those affected by Haiyan.

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  33. Why didn’t they beforehand relocate the position of Rescue Units off the main path of the storm?
    Didn’t the Air Force anticipate that their Unit can be rendered ineffective if they are run over by the storm?
    Even in non-rescue mission, any unit that could be annihilated has to be moved out so they can be effective for what they are intended to do. Even if men survived, if their aircraft and equipment were destroyed, they will be of no use for their purpose.

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    1. now, that’s a very valid point right there. in hindsight, the airforce will have to rethink their sops now. i guess they had secured their aircraft the same way they did before, and they assumed that their precautions were enough. I keep saying there is now a ‘new normal’ they should have prepared for a worst case scenario far worse than they had before.

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  35. nice story indeed.i thought sendong was the greatest tragedy that ever hit our country especially our city of iligan …but yolanda surpassed it all. am so sorry for what happened to tacloban and other places in the visayas. thanks for people like the colonel who has been a great help to the little boy and all the unsung heroes, may your tribe increase. God bless us all.

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  36. heartbreaking and inspiring… nakakapagsikip ng dibdib! as a mother of a PMAer, i can feel the pain and imagine the struggle of the good soldier..God bless him more

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  37. While i was reading his story reminds me of the movie the incredible true story of a family who survived the tsunami in Phuket Thailand. thank you, sir, for your bravery, for the faith to keep going…God Bless you. Mabuhay po kayo

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  38. i salute u, sir, and all the survivors!.. i remember my husband nung sa bagyong pablo. huhuhu.. god bless ur family, and to little boy.. na na save.

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  41. “Alas, it turned out that they too would be the very victims to Haiyan’s wrath.”……….. I tohught saying Álas’ is quite rude word to use in this article………like it is very simple things that happened…. you write a very good and touching story….to finish it with ALAS! shows not respect to the solders that might have died…just inappropriate word to use…be careful next time!

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  44. Sir,
    Thanks for sharing po. Sir Carangan was my hubby’s upperclassman during their PMA days. Our Supreme Commander up there has more missions for Sir Carangan. A big salute for his bravery. I hope he will take care of Miguel. Have a safe day po and regards to Sir Boysie.

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  46. Hi, sir! am teary eyed…am preparing for our incoming mission in tacloban through our Foundation…Pedia And Geria. Foundation..with God’s grace, we can do it….God bless!i salute You, Sir..take care of miguel…

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