Typhoon Haiyan did not just bring destruction and tragedy in the Philippines. It also brought with it a total collapse of law and order and civil structures. As expected through past experience in Hurricane Katrina and other natural calamities, the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan created chaos and disorder among survivors who were desperate for food and water. It also brought about opportunism, criminality, looting and stealing, amonst those who simply wanted to take advantage of the situation. No police were available in the week after the Typhoon hit the City of Tacloban, Leyte: among 300 or so police only 20 reported for duty, as most we also victimized by the Typhoon, dead or injured, or abandoned their posts. The slow response by the government, both local and national, to quell the rioting and looting resulted in numerous shops and stores ranscaked and their goods stolen. Upscale homes were not spared as marauders broke in and beat up the owners, raped their women, and took away whatever they could. About 600 Local prisoners who had escaped from a prison and local insurgents foraging for food, compounded the problem.

One news account even stated that a store owner in the town of Guian Leyte, witnessed uniformed policemen were among the looters of her store. Continue Reading