State-of-the-art services

The 128 medical staff, backed up by state-of-the-art equipment, enable the hospital ship to play a vital role in disaster relief work, said Guan Bailin, head of the health department of the Chinese navy.

"It's like moving one of China's best hospitals and its staff directly to the disaster zone," he said. "We will also send staff to the local medical facilities and set up temporary field hospitals, but the ship itself functions as the hub of the operation."

Medical staff treat a man aboard the Chinese hospital ship Peace Ark. Wang Jinglong / for China Daily

The medical staff performed surgery on Anade and the others during the Peace Ark's first day in the area, and 10 more patients were ferried to the ship by helicopter and launch on the second. The ship can accommodate 300 patients, so the modest sick list hardly stretched her resources.

Anade's husband, Carlito, was also on board. He sat next to his wife's bed as she slept following three hours of surgery.

A young boy helps a member of the PLA navy to carry medical supplies. [Photo/Xinhua]

The 56-year-old said Haiyan was the strongest typhoon he had ever experienced. He was stunned by the damage to the house, especially as the family lived more than 5 kilometers from the coast. No one expected the storm to move so far inland. "Our house collapsed and the farm was flooded. We have lost everything," he said. "I really appreciate the help offered by these Chinese doctors; they fixed my wife's leg and provided us with food and water."

Huang Haiyan, the Peace Ark's head nurse, said that all the operations have been successful and the patients were stable. She said the patients and their families were welcome to stay aboard the Peace Ark and use the facilities for as long as they needed.

Dila Mactillr had accompanied her 19-year-old son to the ship, where he underwent an operation to remove his acutely inflamed appendix. After Mactillr's house was destroyed by the typhoon, the family survived for two weeks on relief supplies donated by international humanitarian organizations. In the days before the typhoon made landfall, the family built a storm shelter out of wood and junk. They had planned on staying there until her son fell ill.

"If it hadn't been for the Chinese doctor, I could have lost my boy," said Mactillr, holding her son's hand in the sickroom. "The storm left us with nothing except a couple of pans we dug out of the debris, so I never imagined that my son would receive free treatment in such a well-equipped hospital."

The journey from ship to shore takes roughly 90 minutes. Seen from a distance, the coastal city was covered by a film of smoke. Residents had lit fires to burn garbage and reduce the chances of health risks. The crooked tilt of the coconut trees indicated the direction of the typhoon when it hit land.

As the boat drew closer to the shore, the damaged houses came into view - the roofs were missing and the glass was broken in almost every window, leaving ugly black holes in the few walls that remained. On some buildings, the walls had been completely stripped away, leaving just the wooden frames on view. Uprooted trees, debris and garbage had been washed to the shoreline and was piled as high as 5 meters. Strips of canvas from a tattered stadium awning flapped in the wind like white flags.

Most of the city's medical facilities were ruined by the typhoon, meaning the only public hospital still operating was overloaded, according to the city's mayor Alfred S. Romualdez.

"After the typhoon I slept in my van and ate one meal a day for four days," he said. "What people need the most is medical help. Lives are being lost every day because of a lack of medical staff and supplies.

"I really appreciate the help the Chinese navy has provided. The Peace Ark is a beautiful ship and a superb hospital. Its presence is a comfort to the local people, both physically and mentally," he said.

According to Romualdez, the city's population swelled rapidly in the days immediately after the typhoon, from 250,000 to around 1 million, as displaced rural people flooded into the city in search of treatment.