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| Philippine City’s Residents Describe Rifling of Stores | Philippine City’s Residents Describe Rifling of Stores |
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| TACLOBAN, the Philippines — By the time Bjorn Racaza joined the crowds rummaging through Robinsons Department Store, he thought he was too late. It was around 6 p.m. on Nov. 10, two days after Typhoon Haiyan destroyed much of this city of 235,000, and the plundering of its largest department store — some of it for necessities, some of it not — was in full fury. | TACLOBAN, the Philippines — By the time Bjorn Racaza joined the crowds rummaging through Robinsons Department Store, he thought he was too late. It was around 6 p.m. on Nov. 10, two days after Typhoon Haiyan destroyed much of this city of 235,000, and the plundering of its largest department store — some of it for necessities, some of it not — was in full fury. |
| “When I got here, the rice was gone,” said Mr. Racaza, 34, who works in customer service for a Hyundai dealership here. “The only thing that was not touched was the spaghetti.” So he grabbed a box, later finding sauce to go with it. | “When I got here, the rice was gone,” said Mr. Racaza, 34, who works in customer service for a Hyundai dealership here. “The only thing that was not touched was the spaghetti.” So he grabbed a box, later finding sauce to go with it. |
| As he pushed a cart through the department store, which is in the city’s largest mall, two cousins fanned out to grab other goods. Then some people broke open a storeroom, and Mr. Racaza picked up for his parents, his sister and her young children some clothes and shoes — some of which he said he needed to replace those lost in the storm. | |
| “I said, ‘Wow, this is really a Christmas present,’ ” Mr. Racaza said. | “I said, ‘Wow, this is really a Christmas present,’ ” Mr. Racaza said. |
| In interviews, Mr. Racaza and others explained their actions as the product of a desperate situation. Their city had been hit by a devastating typhoon, and in the immediate chaotic aftermath, the prospects of relief were faint. But the pillaging sometimes went far beyond necessities, with some people taking anything they could get their hands on, including jewelry, appliances and vehicles. | In interviews, Mr. Racaza and others explained their actions as the product of a desperate situation. Their city had been hit by a devastating typhoon, and in the immediate chaotic aftermath, the prospects of relief were faint. But the pillaging sometimes went far beyond necessities, with some people taking anything they could get their hands on, including jewelry, appliances and vehicles. |
| Robinsons is now a largely empty shell, with piles of glass, soaked papers and broken mannequins scattered on the floor. The wheels of display vehicles have been removed. A single alarm still sounds, nearly two weeks after the storm. | Robinsons is now a largely empty shell, with piles of glass, soaked papers and broken mannequins scattered on the floor. The wheels of display vehicles have been removed. A single alarm still sounds, nearly two weeks after the storm. |
| The streets of Tacloban, now dotted with police checkpoints, feel far safer than they did a week ago, when few security officers were in the city. The lack of power means little light in the evenings, though, and a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. remains in force. | |
| Business owners say they still worry about security, and the post-storm breakdown in law and order in this city has slowed the return of normal commerce. Aid groups said the sometimes desperate rush for relief supplies did not affect distribution, though two Philippine Red Cross convoys — including one that was almost hijacked — were delayed last week because of security concerns. | |
| At the open-air market downtown, stalls selling fruit, fish, shellfish, vegetables, soft drinks, soap and cooking oil have finally reopened, hawking goods next to piles of decomposing debris. Residents say some goods that had been taken from stores were sold here in recent days. | At the open-air market downtown, stalls selling fruit, fish, shellfish, vegetables, soft drinks, soap and cooking oil have finally reopened, hawking goods next to piles of decomposing debris. Residents say some goods that had been taken from stores were sold here in recent days. |
| Some banks have begun to reopen, though they can offer only limited transactions. | Some banks have begun to reopen, though they can offer only limited transactions. |
| At a UnionBank branch, staff members recharged their computers and phones on a solar-powered generator. | At a UnionBank branch, staff members recharged their computers and phones on a solar-powered generator. |
| “We’re not worried about security,” said Joey Samson, an employee. The branch has an armed guard, and the police have set up a roadblock immediately across the street. | “We’re not worried about security,” said Joey Samson, an employee. The branch has an armed guard, and the police have set up a roadblock immediately across the street. |
| The police have been trying to round up people who stole luxury items and recover the lost goods. Items confiscated from vehicles on the suspicion that they were looted sit at many police roadblocks. On Wednesday, the police took possession of four motorcycles that were probably stolen after the storm and had been hidden along the waterfront, said Inspector Karl Sanchez of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force. | |
| Security concerns were exacerbated by prisoners who were freed or who escaped from detention facilities on Leyte Island, where Tacloban is. Most of the pillaging was not done by hardened criminals, however, but by residents reeling after the storm. | Security concerns were exacerbated by prisoners who were freed or who escaped from detention facilities on Leyte Island, where Tacloban is. Most of the pillaging was not done by hardened criminals, however, but by residents reeling after the storm. |
| Sociologists and health experts who have studied mass behavior during natural disasters said much of what happened was not really looting, given the circumstances. “I think a better term would be ‘foraging for resources,’ ” said Daniel J. Kruger, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. | |
| When survivors feel they are confronting “absolute chaos,” he said, their perception of what is permissible can change. “There’s no infrastructure, no authority and no regulation,” Professor Kruger said. “Everyone fends for themselves.” | |
| Marlon Taño, 46, a correspondent with The Freeman, a newspaper in Cebu, began looking for goods after his house and all his possessions were destroyed by the storm surge. He moved his wife and two daughters to the Leyte provincial capital building in Tacloban, but with only 50 pesos, about $1, in his pocket, he did not know how he could buy rice and medicine for foot injuries he sustained in the storm. | |
| He walked to Rose Pharmacy, where he saw people taking items. He grabbed some antibiotics there and then took rice, chocolates and candy from another store. “Anybody will do it,” he said. “Anybody will loot to stay alive and keep his family alive.” | |
| Mr. Racaza, who took the spaghetti and clothes, said much the same. “If you’re just going to stay at home and wait for someone to feed you,” he said, “that’s not going to work.” | Mr. Racaza, who took the spaghetti and clothes, said much the same. “If you’re just going to stay at home and wait for someone to feed you,” he said, “that’s not going to work.” |
| But Manuel Roxas, a business owner, rejected the assertion that people had to take goods to survive. | But Manuel Roxas, a business owner, rejected the assertion that people had to take goods to survive. |
| Mr. Roxas named his store Hayward after the city near San Francisco that was his home in the United States, where he worked for three decades. He put his savings into the small grocery store. | |
| The day of the typhoon, he reopened after the waters subsided, but he stopped selling when customers began grabbing goods without paying. “Lots of people were stealing,” he said, “just putting things in their pockets.” | The day of the typhoon, he reopened after the waters subsided, but he stopped selling when customers began grabbing goods without paying. “Lots of people were stealing,” he said, “just putting things in their pockets.” |
| He closed for more than a week, and since he reopened he is taking extraordinary precautions. Mr. Roxas has closed the six-foot-tall metal fence in front of his store, placing snacks, cigarettes, soft drinks, eggs and soap shipped from less damaged islands on a table behind it. Customers pass money and receive their items through the fence. | He closed for more than a week, and since he reopened he is taking extraordinary precautions. Mr. Roxas has closed the six-foot-tall metal fence in front of his store, placing snacks, cigarettes, soft drinks, eggs and soap shipped from less damaged islands on a table behind it. Customers pass money and receive their items through the fence. |
| With few other commercial outlets available, a steady stream of residents, foreign aid workers and Filipino firefighters stop to buy goods that are hard to find elsewhere in town. | |
| Mr. Roxas said he still worried about his safety, but with his mortgage payment and other expenses coming due, he said, he had no choice. “I have to open because I owe big bills,” he said. | Mr. Roxas said he still worried about his safety, but with his mortgage payment and other expenses coming due, he said, he had no choice. “I have to open because I owe big bills,” he said. |
Jes Aznar and Keith Bradsher contributed reporting from Tacloban, and Rick Gladstone from New York. | Jes Aznar and Keith Bradsher contributed reporting from Tacloban, and Rick Gladstone from New York. |