Looking back at one of history's deadliest storms, one year on from Typhoon Haiyan

It has been almost a year since Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines. It was the most powerful storm ever to hit land, killing more than 6,000 in the country’s central provinces. Many more are still missing to this day.

A parade right in the heart of downtown Tacloban. A year after Typhoon Haiyan tore this central Philippine city apart, it seems the hustle and bustle are back, the Filipino resilience on full display.

But life may never be the same again for the millions who were affected by the killer storm. Visiting this graveyard has become a daily routine for 50-year old Evelyn Facturanan and her children. Evelyn lost her husband and 30 other relatives to Haiyan.

"After my husband was able to help me get on the rooftop, I asked him where my mother was. Still downstairs, he said. So I told him to go get her. As soon as he turned around, the ocean surge came, and we all got separated," Evelyn said.

It was that tsunami-like storm surge,and winds over 300 kilometers an hour, that killed more than 6,000 people,possibly more in and around Tacloban and neighboring provinces. We were there to witness the wrath of Typhoon Haiyan first-hand.

So as you can see the ocean’s just over there and the water was rising really really quickly and so we had to get to the second floor also really quickly. And this hallway over here, this long hallway here became sort of a wind tunnel and as you can see, there are metal sheets all over the ground. These metal sheets actually came from the ceiling and they were flying all around us, and if one of these metal sheets had hit my head or my neck, I probably would’ve been dead. So we decided to hide in one of these rooms; this was actually my room.

A year has gone but the hotel that became our refuge remains visibly wrecked, half of the space now being utilized for storage, the rest,abandoned. Around the hotel, where we had our first glimpse of the death and destruction. We saw signs of progress, but there were still remnants of the devastation.

This is all that’s left of Evelyn Facturanan’s house, which she and her husband built from money they earned in large part, from raising fish, her only source of income, also gone. Evelyn and her children now live in a much smaller, more modest home.

"The effect on our lives is as strong as the typhoon itself. We lost our livelihood and I lost my partner in life. He would help even with household chores. He didn’t mind washing clothes and sweeping the floor. We had big dreams for our children. But how am I supposed to achieve them now? I can barely manage our day-to-day expenses," Evelyn said.

Evelyn and her family aren’t alone. Despite some semblance of recovery, many families continue to suffer, particularly those still living in tents and even those who’ve been provided temporary housing.

Fourteen-year old Shane lives with her mother and siblings in one of these bunkhouses. Having a roof over their heads may be considered a blessing by those less fortunate, but it was there where Shane met the people who changed her life. She’s asked us not to reveal her identity.

"There were people who kept telling me this or that guy really likes me. And then they’d text me asking if I was ready to meet with those men. The first guy promised me he won’t touch me, but he did, and I couldn’t resist because he had already given me and my family so much,"Shane said.

Shane’s father is in prison, her mother had just given birth and is unemployed. She says she had no choice but to accept what she described as “help” in exchange for sex, but isn’t proud of it.

"A lot of people say that I’ve changed. I feel like I’ve lost my worth, that I’ve thrown my life away because I’m not a virgin anymore," Shane said.

That feeling of loss, of so many of their loved ones, of what little they had and for girls like Shane, of dignity, still echoes throughout this region even after a year had passed.

"There are chronic difficulties in this region. This is the second poorest region in the Philippines. This is why everybody’s talking about building back better because this is an opportunity of putting in place public services, economic alternatives, communication much better than it was before," UN Resident Coordinator Liuza Carvalho said.

But while a better Tacloban is difficult to see at this point, officials insist the speed at which they’ve been able to deliver relief and recovery to affected areas has been on target.

The international protocol or standard would be to transition from relief and humanitarian phase to rehabilitation and recovery phase one year after the disaster. The transition came last July 4, that was nine months, even three months ahead of the international schedule.

For these survivors, however, spending a year living on handouts, whether it’s for food, water, or this time around, construction materials–is hardly a sign of recovery. One year on, they are still where Typhoon Haiyan left them, poor, dislocated and vulnerable.