Possibly the worst, deadliest natural disaster hit the Philippines on Friday, Nov.8. The monster typhoon, Haiyan, swept away thousands of bodies in a matter of hours, bringing a possible death toll of up to 10,000 people. Thousands of buildings and homes were flooded with seawater up to second and third floors as well.
Even though the typhoon ended, Monday continued to bring rainfall, transforming dirt roads into muddy paths, putting up even more problems for the resident Filipinos of Tacloban. Winds up to 190 miles per hour even put phone lines out, making it almost impossible for family members to get in touch with others in and outside of the country. And only four weeks ago, an earthquake of a magnitude reaching 7.2 tormented the middle of the Philippines.
Valerie Amos, United Nation’s head relief official, is giving $25 million to the Philippines from an emergency response fund in order to help build back the rubble as soon as possible. Unfortunately, efforts to aid the injured and continue searching for bodies could take time, possibly causing the death toll to rise even more.
Ninety marines have already been ordered to assist with rescues, as well as aircrafts and ships. On Sunday, a Red Cross aid group from the Philippines was chased away after a crowd of hungry people tried hijacking them for food and supplies. Many counts of robberies have been reported as well. These are just some of the many examples of how much damage the storm has done.
There is a possibility that other parts of the country such as fishing towns on coasts could have been greatly affected as well. Unfortunately with the phone lines being down, it is unknown to what extent people are suffering there. On Panay Island, hundreds of bodies are still continuing to wash up on shore, filling up morgues to the brim. Aid will need to reach out to other areas besides Tacloban.
Luckily, there are many ways people here in America can help out. Many organizations are opening up lines for donations. Programs such as, UNICEF, CARE, World Vision, Red Cross, U.N. World Food Programme, Save the Children, AmeriCares, Salvation Army, International Rescue Committee, and many more have phone lines or websites people can use to give money. Google has even launched a “person finder” in order to help people around the world find family members or friends locations. We should feel blessed being able to live in a country that is rarely hit with such destructive natural disasters and to be in good health.