CEBU CITY, Philippines — The fire that hit Barangay Ermita, Cebu City on Tuesday, February 5, completely changed the lives of about 2,500 persons from 629 families who lost homes and properties to the two-hour blaze.
Still, life goes on. And these images say it all.
A mother feeds her child at the evacuation center for families displaced by the fire that razed 273 houses in Barangay Ermita, Cebu City on Feb. 5, 2019. \ Photo by Tonee Despojo
A couple sift through what is left of their house destroyed by the fire that hit Barangay Ermita, Cebu City on Feb. 5, 2019. Despite the debacle they remain faithful to the Señor Sto. Niño, placing him at the fire-eaten window ledge of what was once their home as they try to search through the rubble on Feb. 6, 2019. |Photo by Tonee Despojo
Children are feed their breakfast at the evacuation center the morning after the fire that hit Barangay Ermita, Cebu City on Feb. 5, 2019. | Photo by Tonee Despojo
These women, who lost homes and properties to the fire that hit Barangay Ermita in Cebu City on Feb. 5, 2019, still manage to smile to the camera as they receive their packed meals from the city’s social workers in the morning of Feb. 6, 2019. | Photo by Tonee Despojo
Ermita fire victims line up for their packed meals distributed on Feb. 6, 2019, the morning after the blaze that destroyed 273 houses and displaced 2,573 persons from 629 familes. |Photo by Tonee Despojo
Ermita fire victims line up for their packed meals distributed on Feb. 6, 2019, the morning after the blaze that destroyed 273 houses and displaced 2,573 persons from 629 familes. |Photo by Tonee Despojo
Residents try to make sense of their loss as they huddle in what was once their homes destroyed the previous day by the two-hour fire that hit Barangay Ermita, Cebu City on Feb. 5, 2019. |Photo by Tonee Despojo
Victims of the fire that hit Barangay Ermita, Cebu City on Feb. 5, 2019 search for whatever usable items they can find in their burned down houses a day after the blaze that destroyed 273 houses and displaced 2,578 persons from 629 families. | Photo by Tonee Despojo
Victims of the fire that hit Barangay Ermita, Cebu City on Feb. 5, 2019 search for whatever usable items they can find in their burned down houses a day after the blaze that destroyed 273 houses and displaced 2,578 persons from 629 families. | Photo by Tonee Despojo