Dark Christmas? Pole-to-pole, house-to-house restoration work in typhoon-hit areas in the Philippines after Kammuri

Part of a felled power distribution pole lying on the ground in Bicol, Philippines. Photo taken on December 12, 2019.

The heroes of post-typhoon restoration work in the hardest-hit areas in the Philippines are the personnel and crews from both the private and public institutions. Thousands of crews from electric cooperatives, of which there are 119 all over the country, have come to the aid of badly-affected coops, though the so-called "Bayanihan" (mutual-help) system.

A house damaged by Kammuri. Huge swathes of land on the typhoon's path in eastern Philippines, covering an area at least five times bigger than Dubai, were plunged into darkness. Typhoon Kammuri, a Category 4 cyclone that hit on the night of December 2, 2019, forced tens of thousands into evacuation centers, damaged homes and knocked off power lines.

The wall of this seaside house in Sorsogon came off.

A damaged radio communication tower used by local power cooperative.

In the Philippines' Albay province, restoration work is on to replace 1,373 electric poles and repair of 722 leaning poles. Albay Power Energy Corp (Apec), the local power distributor, restored electricity in some areas in Tabaco City, the business center in Albay’s first district as of December 12, 2019.

A scene outside a power generator repair shop in Bicol, Philippines. Many hotels, fitted with industrial-grade power generator sets, are fully booked, mostly by locals who try to escape lack of power at home. Photo taken on Friday, December 13, 2019.

Fisherman's net buried in the sand in Bicol, after the typhoon.

A power pole hit by a felled coconut tree in Bicol. The region hosts the country’s major geothermal plants in Tiwi, Albay and Bacon-Manito that supply power to the Luzon grid. The Philippines, with an installed geothermal energy capacity of 1.9 gigawatts (GW), out of the global installed capacity of 12.7 GW – ranks behind the US (2.5 GW) and ahead of Indonesia (1.5 GW).

The prices of local bananas doubled in this region after agriculture took a beating from Kammuri's wrath.

Under-investment: Electric cooperatives in the Philippines, a typhoon-prone area, predominantly use an archaic power distribution system, where overhead power lines are precariously exposed to the elements. It is a cheap and easy solution, but inefficient, costly overtime and periodically disruptive to residents, local businesses and industries.

The roof of a school stage blown away in Magallanes, Sorsogon. The country's 20th storm this year hit land in the province on December, dumping heavy rains to the southernmost province of Luzon island and neighbouring areas, and leaving a trail of destruction.

“Bayanihan”: Nearly two weeks after Kammuri, the hardest-hit regions are still without power. Local electric cooperatives in the storm bullseye-hit areas are overwhelmed. Thousands of crews from electric cooperatives, of which there are 119 all over the country, have come to the aid of badly-affected coops.

Work to restore power has reached fever pitch, with electric coops from unaffected areas helping out, through “Bayanihan”, Filipino term for mutual-aid system.

The momentum to restore power to the household level continues, as officials aim for a joyous Christmas and a prosperous New Year by bringing power back to homes and businesses.

Heroes of post-typhoon power restoration.

Many of the power repair crews came from faraway provinces to help restore power supply to the typhoon-hit areas, including Sorsogon, Albay, Camarines Sur and Mindoro island.

Nearly every year, as the country is hammered by as many as 20 typhoons, about 5 of them leaving severe damage, the same problem – prolonged darkness after a typhoon and arduous power restoration job – occurs.