Mindanao Typhoon Flood Disaster

[OutWest]

Areas of North Mindanao that are usually not hit by typhoons have been devastated. My house is on high ground and not affected, but we
estimate from what we hear that up to 2000 are dead. The flash floods hit about 1 am- entire families are gone. Clusters of bodies are being found,
some out at sea. It has hit Cagayan De Oro and Iligan hardest- it is horrific. I am still back in the states till New Years, I have two employess there
and my wife is there safe, we have two pickups there that we are using to help. Water bottles, plastic tarps for tents, basic food supplies and clothing
of any sort is urgently needed. Up to 100,000 people have been misplaced by the disaster, many have lost everything but the clothes on their backs and are totally destitute.

>>>If you have friends or relatives there, do anything you can urgently. We are purchasing and donating about $15 G in water bottles, clothing, plastic tarps and rice for hard hit areas not far from us, but that is a drop in the bucket vs the need.


It will be a hard sad Christmas for many...

Outwest

[filipina]

OutWest, I was about to pm you and ask how is your family doing back here since I will be going to CDO today, my 2 Uncles are still missing, they were last seen helping people evacuate. We've also been hit here but thankfully the damages were not that devastating compared to CDO and Iligan.

[OutWest]

OutWest, I was about to pm you and ask how is your family doing back here since I will be going to CDO today, my 2 Uncles are still missing, they were last seen helping people evacuate. We've also been hit here but thankfully the damages were not that devastating compared to CDO and Iligan.

Its difficult since I am still in the states and my father in law, wife, and two employees are working to help with efforts there.
Earlier today they took in to CDO about half a dozen pickup loads of supplies - water, rice and plastic tents, but as you know that is not much.
My father in law was meeting some relief workers from his church to transfer supplies as fast as we can get them there- they meet near the divisoria
@ Xavier U - have not heard from them this evening however. It is actually hard for me not to be there, though I am helping raise money from here anyway and that will help.

Outwest

[cadams84]

This is sad and probably made worse because it hit somewhere it doesn’t usually happen, an area that is probably not as prepared for such a disaster. Was this a typhoon or a tropical storm?

[filipina]

@Outwest
We're having a clan reunion from my mother's side on that day and was still able to take pictures of the flood when it was still knee-deep, I went back to sleep because I was really very tired only to be pulled by my brother in a hurry and literally throw me to our pick-up, the water came so fast. According to the reports and warnings the storm is not that strong so we did not prepare hardly like Luzon used to do, this is our first time to be struck directly and we are all unprepared.
My family from my mother's side was in a festive mood for our grand reunion while my family from my father's side 2 of them still missing and many evacuated to their friend's house. I will be in CDO with the Red Cross from my chapter, we'll be bringing volunteers and relief. I thought of you since I remember your pm about you and your family from CDO, glad to know they are okay.

@IliganBound,
Thank you any help is very much appreciated just let me know when you're here

[zboy1]

Wow, I pray for the people of the Philippines that they can overcome this terrible tragedy. I hope that all the Happierabroad members living in the Philippines are doing okay and are safe. Sounds like it was a pretty bad storm, and unexpected as well.

[Winston]

So what's going to happen to those whose homes were destroyed? Will the government rebuild their homes?

Filipina, what's the update on your family? Were your two uncles found? Did you try to call their cell phones?

[OutWest]

So what's going to happen to those whose homes were destroyed? Will the government rebuild their homes?

Filipina, what's the update on your family? Were your two uncles found? Did you try to call their cell phones?

I very much doubt much will come from the Philippines government. They might make some grand pronouncements and then they will do nothing..and they really don't have the money anyway...and if they did..half of it would be stolen at each level. We have been involved in relief efforts in two very hard hit areas of Cagayan de Oro and for more than a week, and it was not till yesterday that ANYTHING or ANYONE from government really showed up. Yesterday they did show up with a water truck. We have been involved since day one, and just our little team (including my wife! ) has distributed over 8000 bottles of water, over 3000 meals, and thousands kilos of rice. My wife, father in law, and 3 others on Christmas day prepared and served individually packaged meals
for over 500 people over the course of Christmas day. It was real production..I am TOTALLY proud of what they did! None of us are professional NGO types...it is just about seeing a horrific need and taking some personal responsibility or ownership of it I guess. I think it is likely a small thing compared with what some others have done.

Outwest

[Winston]

That's very honorable and noble of you Outwest. Were you the only white guy volunteering? If so, weren't you a target of the beggars there?

So are the donations there enough to help rebuild homes?

What about all the bribe money that the government collects? How come it doesn't get used in times like these? Where does it go?

If you feed them, won't you have to feed them everyday? How can you really help them without rebuilding their homes or businesses?

[keius]

The donations will never be enough to rebuild.

It won't be much different than the China quakes, Haiti, and other quakes in SE Asia. The gov't of PI will make some gestures and token assistance then leave everyone to fend for themselves. Much of the assistance will be "appropriated" by corrupt elements (including international assistance). Most of the real assistance will come from international sources.

"What about all the bribe money that the government collects? How come it doesn't get used in times like these? Where does it go?"

Where would you imagine it goes? It's bribe money. It goes and stays in the pockets of corrupt gov't officials who don't particularly care about the "little" people and their fate. The local gov't might care seeing as how, for them to stay on top, they need to have a sustainable population and economy at the bottom...but you can be sure as hell they won't be paying for it with their accumulated bribe money.

The only hope for many of them, is that one resource that will be available to many of the PI families....remittances from outside family.

Otherwise, most will need to find some way to drag themselves out of their dismal situation, which can take years and years.

[OutWest]

The donations will never be enough to rebuild.

It won't be much different than the China quakes, Haiti, and other quakes in SE Asia. The gov't of PI will make some gestures and token assistance then leave everyone to fend for themselves. Much of the assistance will be "appropriated" by corrupt elements (including international assistance). Most of the real assistance will come from international sources.

"What about all the bribe money that the government collects? How come it doesn't get used in times like these? Where does it go?"

Where would you imagine it goes? It's bribe money. It goes and stays in the pockets of corrupt gov't officials who don't particularly care about the "little" people and their fate. The local gov't might care seeing as how, for them to stay on top, they need to have a sustainable population and economy at the bottom...but you can be sure as hell they won't be paying for it with their accumulated bribe money.

The only hope for many of them, is that one resource that will be available to many of the PI families....remittances from outside family.

Otherwise, most will need to find some way to drag themselves out of their dismal situation, which can take years and years.

That is about how it is here. yes, there are several white expats that I know of involved with relief efforts. There are a number of private organizations helping. We decided to use this as an opportunity in the 2 barangays we are helping most, by morphing this into a good self-help project as the needs begin to change. Since we are a very limited instant group, it was decided to focus on two very hard hit very poor areas. We cannot do everything but we can do SOMETHING...so that is what is being done. And you are quite right, most of the real assistance will come from the outside, and unless you can absolutely KNOW it is not being stolen, it is probably being stolen. on the bright side, overseas Filipinos are rising to the occasion. There are actual lines of
people waiting to pick up Western Union remittances from overseas...


Outwest

[Rock]

I just left Cagayan de Oro yesterday afternoon (back to Cebu). I went there by ship and came back by plane. I was surprised not to see much evidence of the flooding in most of the areas I went to and stayed. Apparently, the area immediately surrounding either side of the river is where most of the damage and deaths occurred. When I visited Del Monte about 45 minutes away, people did show me where a foreigner and his family had constructed a big house along a creek. It had slid into the water during the typhoon and the whole family died.

Other areas immediatelly including downtown seemed normal and according to locals was as usual. People there did not want to eat any seafodd through cus they were afraid that the fish may have feasted on some dead human flesh.

[filipina]

So what's going to happen to those whose homes were destroyed? Will the government rebuild their homes?

Filipina, what's the update on your family? Were your two uncles found? Did you try to call their cell phones?

We are okay Winston, thanks. There was chaos that time and my 2 uncles sent someone to inform their respective families that they'll be helping people at the evacuation centers but that man was not able to relay the message. It was a great relief for us.

There has been an overwhelming outpouring of help from private citizens basically because people here know that aid from the government takes forever to reach the individuals affected by the disaster. Most of the time private citizens would rather give their donations to NGOs than to the government as there will be a higher chance that their donations will not reach the rightful recipients.

Victims are slowly rebuilding their homes mostly from their own initiative and resources and some with the help of NGOs. Our government really sucks at helping us.

I am thankful to some of the members here who not only showed their concern on their posts but also went an extra mile to be pro active in terms of helping the victims. I have not have their consent to name them but I was surprised that one member here whom you all "hated" really is an angel in disguise.

[Winston]

I am thankful to some of the members here who not only showed their concern on their posts but also went an extra mile to be pro active in terms of helping the victims. I have not have their consent to name them but I was surprised that one member here whom you all "hated" really is an angel in disguise.

Filipina, are you referring to Iliganbound, aka OilTradingAcademy? If so, you ought to see his posts and see how totally messed up he is. He calls us all "losers and followers of Satan" and says tons of crazy banter that he himself takes seriously. If you see his posts, you might not think he is an angel in disguise, but rather a "devil in disguise". Somehow, he had you fooled. Go look at his posts and you will see.