Death Toll Passes 1000 in Philippine Typhoon

The grim toll from a typhoon that devastated southern Philippines earlier this month continues to climb, with 1,020 reported dead as of Sunday morning, authorities said. Officials fear the toll from the December 4 storm will rise further. Because while rescue crews continue searching, the chances of finding people alive dim with each passing day.

With 844 still missing and 1.2 million families displaced, Bopha (called "Pablo" in the Philippines) is the strongest and deadliest storm to hit the Philippines this year, according to the country's emergency management agency. Among the missing are hundreds of fishermen who went to sea before the storm hit. Officials hope that they could yet be found sheltering on small islands out at sea.

If the death toll continues to rise, Bopha could eventually prove deadlier than Tropical Storm Washi, which killed 1,268 people a year ago.

The worst of the death and destruction from Bopha took place on the southern island of Mindanao, where the storm hit first and hardest with gusts as strong as 220 kph (138 mph). The storm, known locally as Pablo, was the most powerful typhoon to hit Mindanao in decades. It set off flash floods and landslides that engulfed people sheltering in their rickety houses in remote, unprepared regions of the island.

20 Member of New Bataan Church Killed in Typhoon

The following message is from Connie Balbin who lives in Davao:

Initial Report: We just arrived home after the lectureship of brother Ron in Gensan. We have contacted the preacher of the small local church of the New Bataan, Compostela Valley; where the most greatly affected and majority of deaths are there. The preacher, brother Jerry Lindaan, went to Gensan to inform us personally. About 20 members of the church were killed not by the Strong winds of the typhoon but with the unexpected flash floods that washed out the entire New Bataan place. The preacher's house survived although barely because their roof was gone and flown away. Father wanted to go tomorrow, with my brother Sonni, to Moncayo, Compostela Valley to check the brethren there also. It is extremely difficult to go the New Bataan for now because of the foul smell that surrounds the place possible caused by the rotten corpses.

Update on Typhoon Aftermath (12/13/12)

I got the following message today from Connie (C.B.) Balbin who lives in Davao:

This past days very hard for us to know the situation of the brethren affected because the communications there were down. Must go there personally to survey the situation but based on the News, one of the municipality was wiped out literally. Just last night we have somewhat established little communication with the affected brethren and the news was very bad. With my father we desire to go there as soonn as possible God willing if we could immediately repair our old van and have some financial budget.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The following is a news report from the area:

The death toll from the destructive typhoon that savaged the southern Philippines last week has climbed above 700, authorities said Tuesday, warning that the final number may be much higher.

Nearly 900 people are still unaccounted for in the aftermath of Typhoon Bopha, the strongest and deadliest storm to hit the Philippines this year, according to the country's emergency management agency.

The numbers of dead and missing have risen drastically during the past several days as government officials have gathered information from isolated areas where the scale of the devastation was previously unknown.

Both of the grim totals are likely to increase further this week, said Benito Ramos, head of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the emergency agency. Search and rescue efforts are continuing, he said, despite the declining chances of finding people alive.

"We are still hoping against hope that there are still survivors," he said by telephone, adding that some of the hundreds of fishermen reported missing after the storm could yet be found sheltering on small islands out at sea.

If only a few of those missing are found alive, Bopha could eventually prove more deadly than Tropical Storm Washi, which killed 1,268 people a year ago. But its toll would still remain far below that of Tropical Storm Thelma, the country's most lethal storm on record that left more than 5,000 people dead in 1991.

The worst of the death and destruction from Bopha took place on the southern island of Mindanao, where the storm hit first and hardest with gusts as strong as 220 kph (138 mph). In the provinces of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, the heavy rain set off flash floods and landslides that engulfed whole neighborhoods, and the winds ripped apart fragile houses.

Many residents were unprepared or unaware of the typhoon's threat to the region, which rarely experiences tropical cyclones of such magnitude. Bopha, known locally as Pablo, was the most powerful typhoon to hit Mindanao in decades.

Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental account for the vast majority of the 714 people killed and for most of the 890 still missing nationwide. A week after the typhoon struck, survivors there are facing many obstacles to rebuilding their lives.

Hundreds of thousands of people are living in evacuation centers or relying on the government for other kinds of assistance, according to the national emergency agency.

"During the daytime, they stand along the side of the road, they ask for food," said Arlo Ramos, a relief worker in the region for World Vision, a humanitarian group.

At night, they sleep in small, makeshift shelters cobbled together out of bits of wood and canvas scavenged from the debris, he added.

In New Bataan, the town at the heart of the devastation, dead bodies are still being found and lined up in an open space in front of an evacuation center, according to Arlo Ramos.

When aid workers or government officials arrive in the town, he said, residents crowd around them, hoping to get the food or water they desperately need, he said.

The region's prospects for longer term recovery are also bleak, since the storm laid waste to a great deal of the agricultural land on which many residents rely for their livelihood.

"Farming communities have been the worst hit and it could take many years for them to fully recover," said Paul del Rosario, the humanitarian program coordinator for the charity Oxfam.

The United Nations has announced a global appeal to try to raise $65 million to help those affected by the storm. And Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, who visited New Bataan and other severely affected areas last week, has declared a state of national calamity, which releases emergency funds and puts price controls on basic goods.

Reuters Article on Typhoon Aftermath

(Reuters) - Isolated communities in the Philippines including hill tribes are facing hunger a week after a typhoon struck, and with roads blocked, supplies will have to be dropped by air, authorities said on Tuesday.

Typhoon Bopha has killed a presently confirmed total of 714 people and caused crop damage worth 10.3 billion pesos ($250 million) when it hit on Tuesday last week. Over 900 people are unaccounted for and about 2,000 were injured, the national disaster agency said.

The most intense storm to hit the disaster-prone Philippines this year wiped out communities near the coast in the southern provinces of Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley. But villages inland were also hard hit by floods and landslides and many are cut off. The Philippines has asked for help from allies and the private sector to get help in by air.

"Their food is fast dwindling, their roads are blocked by fallen trees and boulders and it will not be long before everyone in these upland villages will go hungry," Manggob Masinaring, a member of a mountain tribe and a volunteer relief worker, told reporters. [Those areas are home to numerous brethren who have obeyed the gospel as a result of work done by brethren in Digos and Davao – HRO]

Compounding the problem was that the source of water for many villages had been blocked or polluted by mud and debris. "The streams, which are their only source of water, are too murky for drinking," Masinaring said.

International agencies including the Red Cross and World Food Programme have appealed for nearly $100 million for food and shelter for 5.4 million people affected by the typhoon. Nearly 400,000 people lost their homes and farms.

Major-General Ariel Bernardo, the army division commander in the south, said food and other supplies would have to be dropped by helicopter to the most isolated communities, including hill tribes, who had yet to be reached.

Stephen Anderson, country director for the World Food Programme in the Philippines, said help had to be delivered fast to communities that had lost everything -- homes, crops and all "productive assets".

"These people are extremely vulnerable ... it's a race against time," Anderson told Reuters.

The Philippines had asked the United States if it could de help with its ships, planes and helicopters, said Benito Ramos, executive director of the national disaster agency. Britain had offered to send two heavy-lift helicopters, he said. Private companies and individuals were also being asked to help with their helicopters.

About 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year, often causing death and destruction. Almost exactly a year ago, typhoon Washi killed nearly 1,500 people in Mindanao, but most storms make landfall further north.

Typhoon Bopha (Pablo) Hits Philippines

On Tuesday (12/4/12), the very powerful typhoon Bopha (called “Pablo” in the Philippines) came into southern Mindanao. Though the Philippines is hit by over twenty typhoons each year on average, it is very rare for strong typhoons to hit southern Mindanao. This one is reported to be the strongest in over 20 years with sustained winds of over 100mph.

Current reports are that over 500 people are confirmed dead with several hundred more being missing and feared dead. One report I read from area media said that unofficial estimate suggest the fatalities may actually be between 1500 to 2000 or more. Serious injuries from the storm are likewise growing as officials are able to access these remote areas. Many brethren live in the mountainous region north of Davao where the storm brought devastating winds and floods. At this time, no communication has been possible to know if any of our brethren lost their lives in the storm. Please keep them in your prayers.

Besides fatalities and bodily injury, the storm has left over 310,000 without homes as of the last report. Reports from two days ago put the number of people in public shelters at about 250,000. Food, water and medical supplies are in very short supply. Often, the number of deaths from disease after one of these storms equals or exceeds the number killed by the storm itself.

The Lord willing, I will update this blog with news about the needs of our brethren in the Philippines when it becomes available. Thank you for your love and concern shown to our brothers and sisters in Christ during this time of calamity. As of this writing, there was fear that the storm would impact the Philippines again in Ilocos Norte on the northwestern end of Luzon.