Typhoon Haiyan is said to be one of the most powerful storms to have occurred in the Pacific. It’s damages and the consequences in the Philippines are broad reaching, and devastating, taking a physical, economic, social, and emotional toll.
The local Filipino community is feeling the effects of the storm, with many residents having family members who have been affected by the typhoon. Many were left worrying about their loved ones, in a time when communications between the country’s most severely affected areas and the outside world were crippled.
Janet Singcol, a resident of St. Paul, had family in the affected area in the Leyte Province, one of the hardest hit areas.
“Lots of our relatives have no houses anymore,” she says in an interview with the Journal. “We had six casualties (in our family). We were very sad to hear what happened. We didn’t hear from one of our cousins who was in the area of the storm surge. We were very worried.”
She adds, “It was a relief when we finally did hear from that cousin, after four or five days.” But in the midst of the tragedy, Singcol says she’s “grateful for the generous-hearted people living here, helping the people affected in the Philippines.”
Honey Delos Santos, a resident of St. Paul whose husband and daughter still live in the Philippines says, “It was a terrible feeling, being here and so far away from them, knowing how big and destructive the typhoon was.”
Delos Santos explains that it was a “tortured feeling,” not knowing if her family was safe. She waited three days after the typhoon hit before she could confirm through contact with them, that they were safe.
“It was crazy. I was helpless, away from them, and had no idea what happened to them, if they had a house anymore, even if they survived,” she says.
Delos Santos explains that her immediate family was living on the far end of the peninsula on which the Leyte Province lies, 45 minutes away from Tacloban City, and thankfully they weren’t in the path of the storm surge that killed thousands.
“One of my cousins was in the city,” she says, “And luckily, they survived the storm surge. They were holding to everything they could in the winds. My cousin told me it was like being tossed inside a washing machine.”
Delos Santos recalls her conversations with her grandmother after the typhoon.
“My grandmother was crying when she spoke to me, and said it was the most frightening thing she ever witnessed.”
In order to reach his wife in St. Paul, Delos Santos’ husband had to travel 45 minutes by boat to the city of Ormoc, the nearest spot from which any kind of communication could be sent.
Delos Santos says the infrastructure of the area has been devastated, and she says local news from the Leyte Province is reporting it could be four or five months before power is restored to the region.
“It’s painful to know that I am here and so helpless to help them. They’re suffering and have no food or water in darkness, while I get to enjoy good food and shelter,” says Delos Santos, adding, “I’m going to apply to bring my husband and daughter to join me here in Canada. I’d like to congratulate the government, and everyone who is going out of their way to help and support typhoon-struck areas.”
Delos Santos is an employee at the St. Paul McDonalds, and has been a resident of Canada for a year and nine months.
According to information received from the office of Westlock-St. Paul MP Brian Storseth, the full scale of the damages caused by the storm has yet to be discovered.
It is in the spirit of hope and community that organizations and businesses all over Canada have joined together in support of the Filipino community and the people suffering the damages of Typhoon Haiyan.
The Government of Canada has sent the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to the Philippines, according to information received from Storseth’s office. DART will help with the emergency response in the Typhoon affected areas, providing items necessary for survival.
In addition to sending out DART, the release says the government has promised to send the same amount of money devoted to disaster relief in the Philippines as all registered charities responding to the typhoon.
Relief efforts are also coming from places much closer to home and on more than just the political level. The Elite Theatre is showing the movie The Impossible on Dec. 1, at 10 a.m. with a ticket price of $10. The movie is based on a family’s experience during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
All ticket money raised goes towards relief efforts in the Philippines, through a donation that will be made to the Red Cross. A drop box for the St. Paul Food Bank will also be available during the movie screening.
“There’ll be local people from our Filipino community, whose families and friends were affected, at the movie, doing their part,” says Tim Krekoski, manager of the theatre. “We’re doing it in conjunction with all our theatres across the country.”
The St. Paul Co-op is also working to help with disaster relief in the Philippines. To raise funds for the Red Cross relief program, the Co-op is holding a bottle drive from Nov. 14 to 28. Bottles can be dropped off at the greenhouse just outside the Home Centre at the Co-op Mall.
“With our Filipino employees, we’ve helped organize a bottle drive,” says Graham Getz, general manager at the Co-op. Getz says funds will be going directly to the cleanup of the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan.
“We’re a Co-op family, and when tragedy hits at home we need to help out wherever we can. Lots of families and individuals have moved over from the Philippines for work in Canada, and this is one way we can help out. This is a true example of our position here at home.”
The Federated Co-op of Western Canada has donated $10,000 on behalf of the affected Filipino people needing assistance in the wake of what Getz describes as an “unparalleled misfortune.”
Cash donations can also be made to the Phil-Can Families of St. Paul Association, according to information received from Gemma Wiebe, a member of the organization. She says money will be collected and sent as a whole.
Donations can also be sent directly to recognized groups in the Philippines through iRemit Canada. People can call Marlin Travel in St. Paul or Wiebe at (780) 290-0114 for more information.
Another bottle drive will also be taking place until Nov. 28, with a drop-off location at the Enriquez’s residence located at 4505 49 Street or Wiebe’s residence at 5522 54 Ave.
“Our thanks to all who have extended their thoughts and help,” says Wiebe.
