Hi Blog Readers,

This past week Typhoon Haiyan, or Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines, and my heart is heavy. Whether you call it by its international name of Haiyan, or its Filipino name of Yolanda, this superstorm roared through and left destruction in its wake.

I usually like to keep things light around this blog. I love to talk about the beauty of my favorite places, Palawan and San Diego. I love to talk about amazing creatures like pangolins or Palawan monkeys. I like to post pictures of beautiful beaches. But a cataclysm happened and changed things.

It’s been an emotional roller-coaster for my husband and me as we’ve waited to hear word from our friends and co-workers in the Philippines. The typhoon’s path went almost directly over the little island where good friends and co-workers, Philip and Vina Le Roux, live in the northern part of Palawan Province. During the force of the gale, November 8, we read a Facebook post from Vina saying, “Storm still raging. Phil is literally holding onto our roof from the inside. Loads of water rushing in thru windows. Bodega is flooded. Worst of all just heard that houses in the town were blown down. So thankful that we have a God who loves us and is in control. Thank you for praying. It means so much to us.”

Then, no word from them for another 24 hours. We were praying constantly, and hoping for the best. But couldn’t help fearing for them, too, thinking of the potential of a storm surge washing over their little island. They were finally able to get cell phone signal and get word out that they were safe. There was some minor damage to their house, but they all survived. However many, many people in their town lost their homes. Almost all the crops are destroyed. They are now working with their mayor to help with relief efforts. They have rice from a private donor in Manila right now but it’s only enough for one meal for each of the people affected by the storm on their island. This photo below shows what the destruction looks like on one little isolated island in their area:

Yolanda's Destruction on Small Island in North Palawan Province
Yolanda’s Destruction on Small Island in North Palawan Province Photo by Josh Dalton

The greatest impact of Yolanda is on the city of Tacloban. Our oldest daughter’s good friend from her Faith Academy high school days is Dorothy. Dorothy grew up on Tacloban, where her parents were missionaries. Our daughter visited that city with her on a school break. Dorothy is now a professor at Biola University. And her parents still work in the Philippines and minister both in Manila and Tacloban. They happened to be in Manila when the typhoon hit. The house they maintain in Tacloban was close to the coast, and is gone. Many of Dorothy’s friends are missing. Dorothy’s father is going out with relief supplies right now, through an organization called Caravans of Hope. They were set to go several days ago, but delayed until the roads were cleared. Then they were furthered delayed because of the instability – some relief trucks have been attacked and looted. The way is secure now and they will go tomorrow.

As I peruse articles and pictures and videos of the destruction in Tacloban, each one seems worse than the last. The devastation is truly horrifying. This morning I watched a short segment from CNN where Anderson Cooper said the scene in Tacloban is worse than anything he has seen. And Anderson Cooper has seen disaster after disaster over the past few years.

The video attached here is a collage of heart-wrenching scenes:
This Video Will Make You Cry.

This is a link to an interview with the Vice-Mayor of Tacloban, Jerry Yaokasin, who is a friend of our friends mentioned above. He says, “The place is gone.” And he blames much of the looting on organized crime elements. Now that is something that can make you just plain old mad! This Place Is Gone.

In the pictures, so much of Tacloban looks like Puerto Princesa. It could be Palawan. The airport looks similar. So it is especially hard to see the faces of all the hurting people. To see their misery, huddled under their tarps in the rain, picking through the ruins, lining up for help. They look like people I know.

The recovery will be long. Right now, survival is the priority. But I know the resiliency of the Filipino people. And I know the good hearts of so many who care and want to help.

Immediately after the typhoon, we were contacted by Cathy Larracas, a director of the Palawan branch of the Philippine Red Cross. She wanted to use our mission agency’s aircraft to do reconnaisance and assessment right away. We were able to put her in contact with Josh Dalton, our agency’s Palawan pilot. They flew immediately over the islands in the north part of the province of Palawan. And now they are coordinating together to bring in relief to those forgotten little islands.

And now, several of our agency’s pilots from Mindanao and Luzon are standing ready to fly relief goods into the Tacloban area, in cooperation with the Red Cross and other efforts. I so appreciate their willingness to be separated from their families and throw their all into helping those who need so much.

If any of you reading this post would like to give to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan, also known as Yolanda, these are some of the efforts we can vouch for:

Help with the expenses of flying in relief goods by small plane and helicopter: http://usa.ntm.org/projects/haiyan-relief

Help with caravaning supplies overland to Tacloban, in association with Dorothy’s dad, mentioned above: https://donate.convoyofhope.org/pages/disasterphilippines

Help with Philip and Vina Le Roux’s relief efforts on small islands in the north part of Palawan Province.
Help the Le Rouxs Help Others – Typhoon Yolanda Haiyan Relief

There are so many more I could share. Daily we learn of others coordinating efforts to bring both short-term relief, and long-term recovery to these regions. If you are interested in learning more, please contact me via email or through the comments on this blog post.

Donna Amis DavisPhilippinesPuerto Princesa & PalawanDonna Amis Davis,Haiyan,Palawan,Philippines,puerto princesa,Tacloban,typhoon,YolandaHi Blog Readers, This past week Typhoon Haiyan, or Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines, and my heart is heavy. Whether you call it by its international name of Haiyan, or its Filipino name of Yolanda, this superstorm roared through and left destruction in its wake. I usually like to keep things...Author of the '60s SURF SHOP MYSTERIES and DIVE SHACK MYSTERIES