All that Tan family members could do was pray since learning of the devastating typhoon that ripped through their native Philippines.
Jaime Tan, a Chestermere resident said that he feels helpless worrying about his three sisters and brother, along with their families living in Tacloban, the city most devastated by the category 5 storm.
Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest typhoons ever to make landfall, hit the central Philippines and Tacloban – a city of 220,000 on Friday, November 8.
Still without electricity, communication with loved ones is tricky but Tan’s nephew, who is currently living in the Philippines, was able to find the help of a mobile generator to charge his cell phone enough to make a call to family in North America, despite the fact cellular service is still spotty.
With that phone call late Sunday evening, the Tan family finally discovered the fate of their loved ones. Although most of the family have survived, Jaime’s nephew lost his wife, who drowned in the storm.
“My nephew is the superintendent for the electrical company and since they were concerned about electricity during the storm, he was called to duty early in the morning before the storm hit,” says Tan, who goes on to explain “My nephew texted his wife who was at home at 6am, and at that time she indicated she was okay but when he came back home later that day he discovered the devastating realization that she had drowned during the storm surge which reached their house all the way to the roof.”
Tan’s three sisters; the eldest of whom is 90 years old, all lived together in a house that was completely demolished by Haiyan.
Facebook helped Filipinos living abroad to make contact with loved ones and see photos of the damage, said Tan. While looking for news on facebook over the weekend, Tan came across a picture of the neighbourhood where his family lives and quickly realized how much danger they were in. “My stomach turned when I saw the picture of the boat lying beside my family’s home – because the home was missing.”
“At that time I had not had communication from them and when I saw the picture I thought that there was a good possibility that everyone was dead.”
He immediately wanted to go home to help his family but said that he was advised not to go because of the situation at the Tacloban airport, which was totally damaged.
“The roads are not even passable due to debris and dead bodies everywhere.”
Tan describes that from what he understands, his three elderly sisters found refuge by climbing a hill located behind their house to reach higher ground.
“I am desperately worried because one of my sisters is blind and another is half blind,” says Tan, “My eldest sister walked for 4 hours to reach by brother’s house for shelter because it was still intact.”
“They have no food and no water and the aid is not reaching them because they are far from the airport – I feel so helpless,” Tan utters. He adds that sending money directly to his family would not help because they no longer have banks nor stores to buy anything. “I can’t send money to them because they don’t need money, there’s no place to buy what they need so I have sent my donation to the Red Cross who have the equipment and resources already in place that is necessary to help.”
Jaime hopes that the help needed will eventually reach those who need it, before it is too late.
Growing up in the Anibong district, Jaime was used to typhoons; seeing at least five per year. “The strongest typhoon I ever experienced was around 150 km/hr – nothing like this one which was in the range of 300 km/hr or more.”
Tan and his immediate family living in Chestermere were planning a visit to the Philippines in April of 2014 but realize that they will now have to change their plans. “I was looking forward to taking my children and grandchildren home to visit but now it will not be safe for the children.” Tan still has plans to visit his home country soon but admits that he and his wife will likely have to go alone.
According to figures from the Philippine’s main disaster agency released 10 days after the storm hit, close to 3,700 people have died, and over 12,000 were injured after Typhoon Haiyan slammed into the country. More than 1.9 million people have been rendered homeless, and an additional 1,200 individuals were still missing, including 55 Canadians.
Tan explains that the Filipino people are very appreciative people and adds that in regard to donations, any little thing is a good thing.
Many local charities such as the Red Cross and Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP) have jumped in the collect donations to help meet the needs of individuals affected by the storm. The Government of Canada announced it will match donations made to charitable organizations in support of relief efforts in communities affected by Typhoon Haiyan.
