In what could have been the worst-case scenario in the history of the province, Bohol was spared of collateral damage caused by super typhoon Yolanda (international code name: haiyan) and the typhoon left the province without inflicting serious havoc on lives and properties here. As of yesterday, Yolanda left zero casualty in the province. The local disaster council also tallied no major infrastructure damage. Still reeling from the Oct. 15 7.2 magnitude killer quake, people here have credited prayer as the reason behind Yolanda’s skipping of Bohol. Many Boholanos here and abroad, posting messages on social media websites, have been quoted as saying that Bohol was saved by God and “spared us from another great calamity.” “We have not recovered from the devastation brought by the earthquake last October 15,” a Boholano based in Manila said, “and it would be unimaginable if we become recipient of another natural calamity such as Yolanda.”

“Daghan sa mga Bol-anon ang nag-ampo sa Ginoo nga dili na ta maigo pa sa laing kalamidad,” a post on Facebook reads. “We prayed to our Lord Jesus Christ for His intervention and we thank Him for hearing our prayers. God saved Bohol,” a member of a Christian church in Tagbilaran said. “But we should not be happy about it because thousands died in the typhoon. We have to continue praying for the victims and their families,” the source said. Five hours before its expected landfall at Friday dawn, Yolanda was spotted 200 kilometers off Guian, Easter Samar and was expected to head straight to Maasin, Southern Leyte. But at 3 a.m. Yolanda returned to its original course, made a landfall on Guian, and smashed Tacloban City and the neighboring towns as the storm’s first list of victims. Yolanda made six landfalls on various areas in the Visayas regions before it went to Palawan and sped off to Vietnam.

Recorded landfalls were on Guiuan, Eastern Samar (4:40 a.m.); Dulag-Tolosa, Leyte (7:00 a.m.); Daan-bantayan, Cebu (9:40 a.m.); Bantayan Island, Cebu (10:40 a.m.); Concepcion, Iloilo (12:00 noon); and Busuanga, Palawan (8:00 p.m.). Capt. Jun Mendez, who was giving a more accurate forecast of super typhoon Yolanda than government authorities, had said he was hoping Yolanda would continue moving west northwest. Such direction would only harm a bit the northern part of Bohol, he said. But Mendez, speaking over DYRD, was alarmed when at 1 a.m. on Friday Yolanda was moving downward and increased the chance of hitting Bohol. However, two hours later Yolanda returned to its previous course, made a landfall on Samar, and started battering the rest of Eastern Visayas provinces, leaving thousands of people dead.

On the other hand, military personnel conducting search-and-rescue operations in areas battered by super typhoon "Yolanda," especially those in Tacloban City, Leyte, described the destruction brought about by the weather disturbance as "unimaginable." "There's total devastation. If you've been to Tacloban before, you will be lost if you are there now," Central Command spokesperson Lt. Jim Alagao said. He added that all landmarks in the city were wiped out. Alagao said that the Tacloban airport, with the exception of the runway, was totally destroyed. "So our first objective is to clear the runways and they have done that in Tacloban. So far, we have two C-130 planes that have already landed there," he said. The next objective is to clear the roads. Meanwhile, the latest National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) report said "Yolanda" has affected more than four million people across 36 provinces in nine regions.

The same report showed 161,973 families or 792,018 individuals were evacuated preemptively to 812 evacuation centers in Regions 4A, 4B, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, and Caraga. The report also indicated 3,398 passengers, 76 vessels, 743 rolling cargoes, and eight motor bancas remain stranded in various ports in the country. Massive power outages were also being experienced in Region 8 -- Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Samar, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar; Camiguin in Region 10; Bohol and 24 towns in Cebu as well as parts of Danao City in Region 7; Aklan, Antique, and Capiz in Region 6; Albay, Masbate, Catanduanes, and Camarines Sur in Region 5; parts of Oriental Mindoro and Marinduque in Region 4B; and six towns in Quezon, eight towns in Laguna, and three towns in Rizal in Region 4A. (with reports from PNA)