When Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines last year, it destroyed more than 1 million homes and caused $14 billion of economic damage. This was especially hard for a country where more than a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line.
On Leyte Island, where some of the worst damage occured, many families ended up moving into the local jail after their homes were destroyed. The jail, which had been almost swept away, too, became an unlikely community in the time of desperation.
After hearing about the jail from journalist John Javellana, photographer Lawrence Sumulong visited last year.
“The situation at the jail is a microcosm of the overall humanitarian crisis in the Philippines,” explained Sumulong. “There is the disaster situation and the poverty and the surreal way that the Filipino people adapt to those conditions. In many ways, the prison is almost like any other Filipino community.”
This is the Leyte Provincial Jail. It houses long-term prisoners and those awaiting trial. It was almost completely destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan. The sign in the hills was built by inmates to welcome visitors.
After Typhoon Haiyan hit, prison officials allowed many inmates to leave the prison to check on their families. Many found their families OK but their houses destroyed.
Prisoners were allowed them to move their families with them into the jail.
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