Yolanda traps Our Lady of Fatima image in Eastern Samar

MANILA, Philippines – The international pilgrim statue of the Our Lady of Fatima was trapped in Eastern Samar after super typhoon Yolanda (international code: Haiyan) battered the region on Friday, November 8.

The image arrived Thursday afternoon in the town of Dolores, roughly 66 kilometers from the province’s capital city of Borongan. It stayed there for an overnight vigil.

The icon was supposed to be brought to Borongan on Friday for another overnight vigil.

We could not confirm, however, if this pushed through, as communication and power were still down in the area as of posting. Yolanda made landfall in Eastern Samar, in the town of Guiuan, at around 5 am Friday.

The image arrived in Manila, from Fatima, Portugal, on September 16. It was scheduled to visit 41 archdioceses and dioceses all over the Philippines until December 18.

At least 6 were confirmed dead as Yolanda, described by weather watchers as “one of the 4 most powerful typhoons ever recorded in the world” smashed the Visayas and surrounding regions.

Unofficial reports and unrecorded incidents, however, are expected to drive the number of casualties up.

In Eastern Samar alone, there were unconfirmed reports of at least two people killed, 9 injured, and 11 missing when a vessel capsized off Borongan. 

After making its first landfall in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, the super typhoon pummeled nearby Leyte province, where a storm surge as high as almost 16 feet was recorded in Tacloban City, and other regions in Visayas.

Video footage from on the ground in affected areas showed monster winds tearing roofs off houses and whipping debris down the streets.

According to the original schedule, the statue of the Our Lady of Fatima was also set to be brought to the Archdiocese of Palo, in Leyte.

A GMA News report, however, said about 20 people died in Palo due to flooding caused by storm surges. – Rappler.com