TYPHOON 2021 - CEBU CITY IN CRISIS - The Aftermath Report Of Typhoon Rai (Odette) In The Philippines

Pea flies into Cebu just days after Super Typhoon Rai (Odette) to document the damage firsthand and report back to worried viewers who can't reach loved ones. She drives the entire length of the island's coast from Mactan airport in the north to the Santander ferry port in the south, passing through Talisay, Minglanilla, Naga, San Fernando, Carcar, Cebu, Alcoy, and more. The video serves as both a damage report and a reassurance to foreigners with Filipino connections that most people survived, even if communications are still down.

Why Pea decided to go ​

• Many viewers have been asking about the fate of cities on Cebu island
• Communications are still down and people are worried about loved ones they can't contact
• Stories of water, food, and gas shortages plus massive home/business damage are circulating
• Despite thousands of people trying to leave Cebu, Pea decides to fly in to find answers
• She plans to make her way down the entire coast and report what she sees

Getting into Cebu was an adventure itself ​

• Reports said Cebu International Airport at Mactan was "closed until further notice"
• Pea spotted a flight being offered from Leyte to Cebu online and headed to the airport to check
• The airport confirmed a flight leaving that morning; there was virtually no one else there
• She was skeptical — no plane on the runway, flight delayed — but she booked the tickets anyway
• The plane eventually showed up; only about 20 people on the flight
• She jokes about the safety demo stewardess: "She's doing a great job but stewardess P could do it with a little more panache"

The car survival subplot ​

• Before the typhoon, Pea had borrowed a friend's car and driven it from Dumaguete to Cebu, leaving it in airport parking
• She was terrified the car was destroyed or gone, given the airport was devastated
• "I hope my friend won't kill me because I am not responsible for her car"
• When she arrives: "Oh my god, the car survived! Not even a scratch!" — she "dodged another bullet"

Cebu City damage assessment ​

• Debris everywhere, collapsed buildings, closed gas stations
• About half the buildings took visible punishment
• On a sunny day with people out and about, it's surreal that this was a disaster zone days ago
• Gas lines stretching an estimated half mile — hours of waiting for just a liter or two
• Many stations limiting sales to 300 pesos per car and 100 pesos per motorbike
• Thick metal electrical posts snapped "as if they were just toothpicks"
• A community near the water was turned to rubble; a large boat was hurled by the storm into shoreline houses
• Miles and miles of downed power lines — Pea says repair crews are working but "this is going to take months, not weeks"
• SMC Side Mall (where Pea has filmed before): the huge tower on top had pieces ripped away, "looked like a Jenga game about to be over," but the mall itself survived with only cosmetic damage and was open for business
• Some small businesses were utterly destroyed; Pea notes insurance is uncommon in the Philippines and this particular business owner almost certainly had none
• Water is the biggest concern — lots of people carrying water, clearly in short supply

Town-by-town breakdown heading south ​

• Talisay: smashed roofs, downed power lines, repair crews; damage roughly same as Cebu City; a "sad little sign for Filipino Homes" (likely a real estate company)
• Minglanilla: lots of debris but power lines in much better shape; no destroyed homes visible; heavy smoke from people burning wood and leaves to clear roadside trash
• Naga (many viewers asked about this specifically): large fallen trees against power lines; crews already at work; another damaged/closed gas station; happy locals waving at the camera; people searching for water
• San Fernando: worst downed power lines Pea saw anywhere — lines "just laying in the road in giant piles"; nobody seems concerned — walking on them, riding bikes over them, picking them up bare-handed; Pea says they need to bury lines underground but "you and I both know that's not going to happen"; a massive fallen tree required several crews to saw up, trapping residents; "in the chaos there will always be other tragedies — oh my God, someone got hit"
• Carcar: "like someone put the town in a blender and set it to puree"; fallen trees, tangled power lines, a broken post hanging so low over the road you could reach out and touch it
• Cebu (a different town or area on the route): looked almost normal — people out running errands, "seemingly unconcerned with the disaster around them"
• Alcoy: pretty nasty damage but people were outside chatting with neighbors "like Filipinos like to do" — no panic on faces even after the typhoon

Road conditions ​

• The drive that normally takes 5.5 hours took 7+ hours
• Debris in the road made travel difficult and slow
• Not just organic trash — nails and screws that can flatten tires; stranding without a spare is a real risk, and "a lot of Filipinos don't have spares"

The ferry crossing to Negros ​

• At Santander port, Pea had no ticket and didn't know if there was room — power and communications were out
• She got lucky and caught what she thinks was the last ferry of the night (8:35 PM)
• Big trucks at the port heading north toward Cebu — Pea wonders how they'll make it with no gas available along the route; hopes they're carrying food and water

The contrast between Cebu and Negros ​

• Negros (just 30 minutes across the water by ferry) was a completely different world: power was on, gas was available, only minor damage
• Pea describes it as "going from a war zone to a peaceful oasis"
• She urges helping "our neighbors across the channel"

The reassuring takeaway ​

• Official death toll was about 208 — "an incredibly low number given the ferocity of the storm"
• Pea tells worried viewers: if you can't contact someone, be patient — "99.9 percent chances are they made it through the storm and they're waiting to contact you"
• She points to the people waving at the camera as evidence of Filipino resilience: "Where else in the world would you find that kind of spirit after such a tragedy?"

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