OLANGO ISLAND, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu — Olango Island in Lapu-Lapu City has been known for its bird and marine sanctuary.
While some residents of the island worked on mainland Lapu-Lapu City and in other cities in Cebu, majority of them rely on tourism and fishing for their livelihood.
So when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and shut down the tourism industry in 2020, the residents were the most affected.
Then super typhoon Odette battered Cebu in December 2021, leaving havoc and ruin in its wake especially in Olango Island where the strong winds destroyed most of the houses there.
For the residents, it was a double whammy as they had lost their livelihood from COVID-19, and now, their homes were literally roofless as Odette’s fury blew away most roofs of Olango residents’ houses and even destroyed several of these houses.