Leyte: How to report a disaster

Here is an example of coverage of how many, many Philippino civilans and military men helped in the terrible landslide we had in Leyte.

Something I learned from this: over 600 US Marines etc. helped. I didn't know that there were so many.

ST. BERNARD, Southern Leyte -- To a US Marine, the tragedy that hit this small town may have produced for St. Bernard its own version of New York's Rudy Giuliani.

Amid the many faceless heroes who emerged after mud and boulders buried Barangay Guinsaugon on Feb. 17, Southern Leyte Governor Rosette Lerias has quietly stood out.

One American soldier saw in Lerias a shadow of Giuliani, the former mayor of New York who tried to keep his city together after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"I think she's a Filipino version of Mayor Giuliani," US Marine Captain Burrell Parmer told the Inquirer on Feb. 23. "She's a very compassionate lady and she's inspiring her people never to lose hope."...

She was constantly on the move, giving instructions on how the overall search and rescue must proceed while consoling those who were getting disheartened...

Major General Bonifacio Ramos said soldiers put up a concrete cross as a temporary shrine for Friday's ceremony until a permanent one is built.

The soldiers are also distributing relief goods to victims, constructing evacuation centers and securing the disaster area.

US Marines, who have been helping in the search efforts, on Sunday withdrew most of their forces, which peaked at about 600. But a small contingent stayed behind for humanitarian work, Parmer said earlier.

Other international groups also left earlier, including search teams from Taiwan, Malaysia, Turkey and Spain. A contingent from Indonesia, which will provide mainly medical services to evacuees, will remain for a month.

Every night during the search and rescue operations, Lerias gathered all those involved in the effort to assess what they had accomplished for the day. She would then appear at a press briefing, not hesitating to answer every media query down to the last detail.

Inspiration

The sight of the busy governor was enough to inspire the multinational rescue effort to proceed despite the overwhelming prospect that none of some 1,000 residents buried under the rubble would still be found alive.....