IT will take three to five years before Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City can fully recover from physical devastation it suffered due to Typhoon Sendong.

This was the observation of Margareta Wahlstrom, United Nations Special Representative for the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, as she addressed reporters in a press conference on Disaster and Risk Reduction.

Wahlstrom said she had seen the magnitude of devastation in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City and that rebuilding efforts have not really started after a month when tragedy struck.

She also expressed concern on the plight of affected schoolchildren and teachers whom she said should undergo debriefing to fight back depression and psychological trauma they suffered brought by the tragedy of Typhoon Sendong.

Earlier, the DepEd said the debriefing and psycho-social therapy both on students and teachers and non-teaching personnel of the department who were affected by deadly Sendong will continue to help bring back normalcy in their lives.

“We have to respond to the immediate needs of both teachers and students and for now, it is important that we introduce activities that will bring back normalcy in their lives,” Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro said.

Luistro also said that the opening of classes in storm-ravaged areas on January 3, amid a strong criticism that schools were not ready to take in students, also helped a lot since it serves for students to reconnect with their classmates and teachers.

“I felt that students will need to see their friends, gather, pray, grieve together, otherwise I think that trauma would linger on and on,” Luistro said stressing that despite the tragedy life must go on.    Jeffrey C. Tiangco