The original image of the Our Lady of Fatima upon its arrival at the St. Joachim Parish Church in Dolores, Eastern Samar, November 7. (Fr. Romeo Lito Cardoso)
MANILA, Nov. 9, 2013— The international pilgrim statue of the Our Lady of Fatima was trapped in Eastern Samar after supertyphoon “Yolanda” battered Central Philippines.
The image arrived in the town of Dolores, roughly 46 kilometers north of the province’s capital city of Borongan, Thursday afternoon and stayed there for an overnight vigil.
The icon was supposed to be brought to Borongan Friday for another overnight vigil but it is not sure if the plan pushed through as communication and power is down in the area.
Dozens feared dead as the strongest typhoon in the world this year and poised to be the most powerful ever to hit land smashed various areas in Visayas on Friday.
In Eastern Samar alone, at least two people were killed, 9 injured, and 11 were still missing when a vessel capsized off Borongan.
The first landfall happened in Guiuan town in the province’s southern tip at 4:40 a.m. with its maximum sustained winds of 235 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 275 kph.
The typhoon then pummeled nearby Leyte island, where a storm surge as high as 15 feet was recorded in Tacloban City, and other regions in Visayas.
Video footage from on the ground in affected areas showed monster winds tore roofs off houses and whipping debris down streets.
Massive flooding and landslides were also reported in several provinces.
According to the original schedule, the statue of the Our Lady of Fatima was set to be brought to the Archdiocese of Palo, which was also lashed by the typhoon, on Saturday.
The image arrived in Manila, coming directly from Fatima, Portugal, last Sept. 16 to visit 41 archdioceses and dioceses all over the country until December 18. (CBCPNews)
