On November 8, I walked the streets of Tacloban City in the Philippines, photographing a candlelight vigil to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan’s deadly rage. With more than 100,000 people participating in the memorial, it was an emotional experience to behold.
For some, the citywide memorial of the tragedy that had happened a year before was a somber experience, one that focused on the thousands of people lost in the storm; for others, lining their streets with candles that night was a celebration of hope and restoration, one that focused on their city’s survival and determination to rebuild.
But today, as yet another massive typhoon roars toward the Philippine Islands, those who mourned and those who cheered are likely united in fear of the monster that’s coming to their shorelines today.
Forecasters predict that Typhoon Hagupit (known locally as Typhoon Ruby) will make landfall sometime late Saturday. What they don’t know is whether or not the storm will hit the islands as a category 3, 4 or 5.
But in many ways, the storm’s numbers are unimportant. One-to-two-hundred mile-per-hour gusts are a huge threat to Tacloban; indeed, a cyclonic storm of any size hitting this city and its surrounding areas right now, amid a community that’s still healing, still rebuilding, is devastating.
Thankfully, unlike in the days leading up to Haiyan’s arrival, those living in the most unstable areas are heeding the warnings and evacuating. Some reports suggest that 500,000-plus people have left their coastal communities for higher and safer ground, the country’s largest peace-time evacuation in recorded history.
But as I witnessed firsthand in November, these are a people in process. Many of them are living in homes still under construction. Others have yet to begin rebuilding because they are still out of work and can’t afford a new home. On Leyte Island, which includes Tacloban City, many residents lost their farms and businesses to the storm and, as of last month, were still trying to figure out what their next venture will be.
Though the Filipino people are brave, hardworking survivors, Typhoon Hagupit will no doubt make their road to rebuilding more difficult and put their future sustainability in question.
Which is why I’m writing: because the people of the Philippines need our help. For the last year, World Vision has spearheaded the relief and recovery efforts in Tacloban, and will continue to do so. But this forthcoming typhoon is a major setback, a large and costly wrench in the process to rebuild and restore.
With Hagupit bearing down on the Philippines, World Vision staff have pre-positioned enough food and hygiene kits to provide immediate aid for 5,000 people. Other supplies, including tarps, water purifiers, and solar lamps are also stockpiled.
Would you please consider helping us by donating to our Philippines Disaster Relief Fund? Your gift will help us ensure that we have the necessary resources to continue the rebuilding processes for those hardest hit by Typhoon Haiyan.
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