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Life is a constant throw of the dice for farmer Nilo Dilao and other residents of the Philippine island of Samar, the ground zero for many of Asia's deadliest storms.
Homes, boats, crops, livestock and jobs are all on the line each time the monster winds roar in from the Pacific Ocean, leaving survivors to mourn their dead and pick up the broken pieces, year in and year out.
"Life is a struggle here," Dilao, 43, said a few days after Typhoon Hagupit destroyed his shanty and killed more than 20 people this month.

He likened the plight of local people to those of stray chickens.
"We're scratching at the soil non-stop in hopes of finding a scrap to eat," he said.
Hagupit came a year after Super Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest ever storm recorded on land, killed 7,350 people on Samar and neighbouring islands.
Samar, about half the size of Belgium, is often the first major Asian landmass hit by the more than 20 tropical storms or typhoons that are born in the Pacific Ocean each year.
With much of the mountainous island stripped by deforestation, most of its 1.8 million residents live on narrow, sea-level strips along the coast, at the mercy of the storms' ferocious winds and tsunami-like ocean surges.
Living in the town of Taft on Samar's east coast, the Dilao family survived both the storm surges of both Hagupit and Haiyan by fleeing to a nearby hill, waiting them out under a raggedy tent made of bamboo frames and a tarpaulin sheet.

In nearby San Julian, farmer Benjie Baldenero was also struggling to cope with having lost his home in Haiyan when it happened again in Hagupit.
The 40-year-old spoke of pledging the next harvest as collateral so he could borrow money to rebuild his grass hut again and replace flooded rice seedlings.
"We have not even repaid last year's debts and here we are needing to take out more loans," Baldenero said.
The vicious cycle ensures Samar and nearby island Leyte are among the country's poorest regions, accounting for just 2.2 per cent of national output.
"Bad weather plays a major role in shaping our economy because typhoons destroy practically everything in their path," Ben Evardone, a congressman and former governor of Eastern Samar province, said.

Six in 10 people on Samar's east coast are poor, according to government data, fuelling a decades-old communist insurgency that has largely petered out across the rest of the Philippines.
Samar is one of only five regions of the country where New People's Army rebels are still active, Philippine army spokesman Colonel Noel Detoyato said.
"They continue to attract followers due to the poverty," he said.
Typhoons and guerrillas also mean the island attracts few outside investors, Evardone said.
There are few jobs available except farming and fishing, which are among those most vulnerable to the extreme weather.
Those in the few other industries also suffer during the storms.


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Help us: A sign at a village in Taft, east Samar, one of the Philippines' poorest regions and gateway for many of Asia's deadliest storms. Photo: AFP

The typhoon-damaged coastal town of Marabut of Eastern Samar Province, Philippines caused by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. Photo: EPA

A satellite image of Typhoon Hagupit which struck the Philippines last month evoking memories of Typhoon Haiyan. Photo: NASA

Benjie Baldenero (right) and a friend prepare coconuts to be made of copra, at his coconut farm just next to the seashore in Hernani town, Eastern Samar province, central Philippines. Photo: AFP

Three killed, 900,000 flee as Typhoon Hagupit lashes the Philippines

Strong winds and waves brought by Typhoon Hagupit pound the seawall in Legazpi City, Albay province, southern Luzon. Photo: Reuters

Typhoon Hagupit roared in from the Pacific Ocean and crashed into remote fishing communities of Samar island. Photo: AP 

Residents living along the coastal areas take shelter in an unfinished building hours before Typhoon Hagupit passes. Photo: AFP

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Filipino protesters daubed with mud stage a play in Manila highlighting the slow government response to Typhoon Haiyan. Photo: AFP

Makeshift homes sit alongside damaged buildings. Photo: EPA

A ship which was washed ashore near Tacloban a year ago. Photo: EPA

News

Asia

A vicious cycle of storms ensures life is a struggle for residents of Samar


Life is a constant throw of the dice for farmer Nilo Dilao and other residents of the Philippine island of Samar, the ground zero for many of Asia's deadliest storms.
