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The mother of Cassie Poyaoan, the remaining missing person in Naga City since the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, calls for more volunteers to help find her daughter
NAGA CITY, Camarines Sur – More than two weeks have already passed since Severe Tropical Storm Kristine left the Bicol region, but for Leslie Ann Realizan-Poyaoan, the storm’s impact still lingers.
This is her reality, as the search for her missing daughter remains shrouded in uncertainty.
“Every day is very difficult. I miss my daughter so much,” Leslie told Rappler in an interview. “I did not expect this to happen.”
Leslie’s eldest child Cassie, an 18-year-old nursing student of Universidad de Sta. Isabel, was inside a car with three relatives during the flash flood on October 22. According to Leslie, a witness saw how the stranded car at the side of the Del Rosario bridge fell into the Yabu river.
Naga City Mayor Nelson Legacion estimated that 30 percent of the land area was flooded by Kristine, leaving 70 percent of its population affected. The Naga City Planning and Development Office described the flooding as the worst in the last 100 years.
A total of 16 individuals were confirmed to have perished so far as a result of the flash floods that inundated Naga City during Kristine’s onslaught, according to the Naga City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).
The number includes Cassie’s three companions, whose bodies were found near Camella Homes Main.
Search continues
Despite continuous search operations, Cassie remains the sole Kristine victim who has not been found as of writing.
On November 5, Naga City police announced they were ending search operations, as hopes of finding Cassie dimmed further. They said they had already extended operations beyond the usual period because of the family’s request.
Cops may have called off the search, but other anti-disaster agencies are not giving up.
“Together with the Bureau of Fire Protection, we still continue. Right now, we are just diverting operations because the Department of the Interior and Local Government has a new tasking for this new typhoon. But we did not stop the operation,” Naga CDRRMO Head Ernesto Elcamel said.
Call for volunteer divers, excavators
Leslie is grateful for the flood of support from private individuals and local officials who volunteered during search operations, and helped amplify her plea for help.
“A continuous plea to the Almighty God and to everyone that Cassie may still be found and returned to her family,” former vice president Leni Robredo said in Bicolano in a Facebook post.
Leslie called on on the public to help excavate piled-up debris along Yabu river, and check Magsaysay river as well, in hopes that her daughter can be found there.
The longing mother admits bracing for the worst case scenario, but hopes to still be reunited with her daughter, whom she describes as responsible, non-materialistic, and humble.
“I just really want to see her, to see her body,” Leslie said. “Even if she’s no longer alive, I just want to see her and have her back with us.” – Rappler.com
Angelee Kaye Abelinde, a campus journalist from Naga City, is a second-year Journalism student of Bicol University and the current copy editor of The Bicol Universitarian. She is also an Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow of Rappler for 2024.
