Young survivor recalls terror and tragedy

A 14-year-old Typhoon Hai­yan survivor, whose seven family members died after water quickly flooded their first-floor motel room in the Philippines, said he held onto a water tank for about an hour before he was rescued.

Jason Lanorias, whose grandparents and aunt and uncle Maribel and Paul Barton live together in Kapo­lei, told the Hono­lulu Star-Advertiser by phone via Skype from Cebu of the harrowing ordeal, including searching for his mother, two sisters, aunt and three little cousins.

His 6-year-old cousin Mary Grace Maurillo is still missing but believed dead.

The supertyphoon hit Tac­lo­ban city in Leyte province Nov. 8, killing more than 4,000.

Lanorias’ family fled their Tac­lo­ban city house in advance of the impending typhoon, trying to find safety at various hotels, before ending up at the Budget Motel.

The family huddled inside their room taking a cellphone photo, which was to become the last one of them all together, including Lanorias in the middle.

First it started pouring, and "the wind is getting stronger," he said. "Around 6 o’clock in the morning, the rain comes very strong, and also the wind. Then suddenly the water came into the room and faster. And when the mattress was floating, we fold it up, and the small kids floated on top of the bed.

"My sister Gellie told me to go out to call for help," he continued. "I said, ‘Yes, I will.’ When I go out, the pressure of the water is pushing me to another room, and there’s broken glass. That’s why I have a deep cut. When I tried to go back into the room to save somebody, the water pushed me back."

Lanorias managed to hold onto a water tank for about an hour until the water receded, and a man, another survivor, rescued him.

"I tried to go home to look for my brother to see if he’s alive," the teen said. "When I got home I see him and I hug him, and I told him what happened at the hotel and we go back to the hotel and we look for them."

His half brother, Mardy Martinez, 26, who remained at the family house, escaped the floodwaters by pounding the sheet metal roofing to create a space and crawled out.

Lanorias and Martinez returned to the motel and discovered the body of their aunt Michelle Maurillo, 30, inside the room.

The following day they found the body of their mother, Grace Maurillo, 47, across the street. Later they discovered other bodies, some strewn behind the motel. They recovered the bodies of their two sisters — Gellie, 20, and Donna Mae Maurillo, 19 — and cousins Matthew and Meco Maurillo, ages 7 and 3, who are Michelle Maurillo’s children. Michelle’s daughter, Mary Grace, is still missing.

Lanorias said on Nov. 9, after the typhoon struck, his aunt brought him medicine for his wounds and fever.

They found refuge in a concrete apartment building owned by an Australian who has allowed many of their neighbors to stay as well, Lanorias said.

Grace and Michelle Maurillo are the oldest and youngest sisters of Maribel Barton.

Their brother Marvin Maurillo, who also lived at the family home, was safe in another part of town.

Also safe were Mardy Martinez’s sister, Greathel Martinez, her husband and their four children.

Over the weekend, more than a week after the typhoon, most of the surviving family members got out of Tac­lo­ban.

Another cousin rode to another town on a motorcycle, rented a van and brought Lanorias, Mardy Martinez and his girlfriend, and Greathel Martinez and her family onto a ferry to Cebu, Barton said.

Maribel Barton’s sister and brother-in-law from Maui traveled to Cebu and arrived just before the ferry docked, bringing food and water.

They got their relatives to a hotel and helped clean up the deep cuts and scrapes Lanorias sustained.

The Bartons have turned to Hawaii’s congressional delegation, who have assisted over the weekend to try to bring the orphaned Lanorias to Hawaii to live with them, their children and his grandparents.

"I want to see my grandparents, my cousins and my auntie and uncle," Lanorias said.

Barton said his wife and her parents swing from "periods of intense grief and periods of intense hope" for those who survived.

Lanorias Skyped with his grandparents, Jobita and Lito Maurillo, 70 and 69 respectively, after an interview Tuesday night. His grandmother could be heard sobbing.

Paul Barton said, for his mother-in-law, "I can’t imagine losing two children and five grandchildren in one fell swoop."

For Maribel Barton, the reality of the horrific tragedy has not yet set in.

"We’ve been so busy, phone calls, trying to keep in contact with my brother and everybody in Cebu. After this is going to go away …" she started, then began to cry. "It’s hard already when somebody dies in the family. There’s a lot of them."

Funeral and transportation costs, the cost of rebuilding the family home, immigration attorney fees and associated costs required to bring Lanorias to Hawaii are great.

Donations can be made at any Bank of Hawaii branch to the Maurillo Family Memorial Fund; or checks may be sent to Paul and Maribel Barton at 91-1074 Papaa St., Kapo­lei 96707.