Typhoon Durian

Odd name for a typhoon: Durian. In the Philippine Islands, which Typhoon Durian hit just a few days ago, Durian is a fruit -- a "stinky fruit" for which, they tell me, one must develop a taste. Apparently it smells so bad that it is illegal to carry one on any public transportation. No kidding.

And now, after Durian, another typhoon has hit the Philippines. One of my old college friends, Salvador Cariaga, has been a missionary in the Philippines since his graduation from Oklahoma Christian University in 1983. The Philippines is a very poor country generally, and the people who have gone to the disaster site to minister to those in crisis do not have a lot.

Below, I will paste several messages I've received from my friend, Salvador, along with information which will tell you how to donate to the relief efforts.

First, the "official" plea for assistance.

Manila authorities say over 1200 dead. Hundreds of villages destroyed.

Two scout teams will start serving the typhoon victims today in Albay. We have joined forces with MARCH for Christ led by Chito Cusi. While some will be providing food and medical care, others will be scouting the area and working with the government and relief agencies on how we can be most effective.
We are looking for sources of cheap used clothing to buy and ship them in site as soon as possible. We are sourcing out funding for that and canned foods also to provide for the victims.

Next week, larger teams will arrive to do more medical mission and provide spiritual and emotional counseling. Jun Arcilla, preacher of Mandaue Church of Christ, and a native of Albay and Dr. Teves, a Christian surgeon were sent by BANDS to do the inital work there. BANDS (Body and Soul), led by Dr. John Bailey, is sponsoring a larger team next week.

www.bandsministries.org

To help with the disaster victims,
please send it to:

BandS Ministries

P.O. Box 1926

Colleyville, Texas 76034

You may contact Dr. Bailey at jcb2of3@sbcglobal.net or send them to your home church and they will contact us.

Salvador Cariaga
http://www.philippinechurchesofchrist.org/

carla calhoun wrote:
Viet Nam update:
Currently: 59 dead
Areas affected: Within two months of typhoon Xangsane hitting both the Philippines and Viet Nam, typhoon Durian has followed the same path leaving the Philippines and travelling parallel to the southern Vietnamese coast. Typhoon Durian made landfall in the southern Vietnamese province of Vung Tau and the Mekong river delta on the evening of Tuesday 5 December 2006. The eye of the typhoon crossed Phu Qui island in Binh Thuan province, destroying homes, community infrastructure and disrupting out communications and electrical systems. Initial estimates by the authorities and Viet Nam Red Cross (VNRC) officials indicate 48 people dead, 184 injured and ten missing. Over 120,000 houses are reported to have collapsed or had their roofs blown off and approximately 700 boats have been sunk.
The most affected areas are Phu Qui island in Binh Thuan province, Ba Ria Vung Tau, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, and Vinh Long provinces. Heavy rains as a result of the typhoon in Danang, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces have increased river water levels to dangerous heights.

Philippine Update:
MANILA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in the aftermath of typhoon Durian has risen to 543 with over 2,000 people reported injured or missing in Albay province, central Philippines, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said on Wednesday.

Two men with BANDS will be out today assessing the damage.
Salvador Cariaga will keep us posted on news and updates.

Pray for the families in these areas. May the Christian brothers be blessed as they render aid to their neighbors. More information to follow on how to help.

Carla

Carla Calhoun saw this story on Asianews and thought you should see it.

Message: disasterresource@yahoo.com

Manila authorities say over 1200 dead. Hundreds of villages destroyed. Article:PHILIPPINES - VIETNAM Typhoon Durian:
reconstruction could take yearsThis is the estimation of the Filipino authorities. The typhoon killed 1200 people and buried 700 villages. Moving to Vietnam, it left 54 dead in its wake. If you want to see the full article click here

Asianews is not responsable for the content of this e-mail

NEXT EMAIL:

Filipino Christian workers now on site."Manila authorities say over 1200 dead. Hundreds of villages destroyed." Two teams started serving the typhoon victims yesterday in Albay. Jun Arcilla, formerly from Catanduanes, now minister of Mandaue Church of Christ in Cebu, surveyed the area and interviewed the victims. He reported witnessing a sea of refugees. The constant rain is making matters worse for the rescuers and the survivors. The Philippine newspaper PDI estimated that over a million people were displaced with hundreds of villages wiped out. Elmer Palacio, a preacher in Cebu has a sister in Bacacay, Albay. He said their home was totally destroyed. Her family was devastated and do not know where to go and what to do. A local official found her husband wandering in town aimlessly. I promised emergency fund to tied them over until we get there. MARCH for Christ also have a small team in Albay. Gigi Caranza and Naga brethren are on site preparing a feeding program for the survivors. A joint medical and dental mission will be held early next week with Dr. Samuel Cariaga and other doctors. Preachers from the churches of Christ will also assist in the counseling and spiritual guidance. We hope to provide food and clothing during this mission. Later on, we hope to participate in the rebuilding program and help provide a new home for those who lost everything. We will also ask Philippine churches of Christ to contribute for this cause. Some have already offered used clothes and money. BANDS (Body and Soul), led by Dr. John Bailey, has provided us the seed money to respond immediately. We will need $10,000 for next week's mission and more for the second and third. This will help with the medicine, food, clothes, and temporary shelter for the survivors. We also need a portion of this to transport volunteers, feed and house them. To help with this disaster effort , please send it to:

BandS Ministries

P.O. Box 1926

Colleyville, Texas 76034

You may contact Dr. Bailey at jcb2of3@sbcglobal.net www.bandsministries.org or send your help to your home church and they will contact us.

For local donations, please send it to

Jun Patricio
c/o Makati Church of Christ.
1598 Archimedes St
Brg Lapaz Makati (near brgh hall)

We are negotiating with Manila brethren who are duly registered with the government to be official conduit of funds locally and abroad. The information should be available sometime today. For more information, please contact me or Jun Patricio at bonifaciopatricio@yahoo.com MARCH for Christ can be reached through Chito Cusi at lpcusi@yahoo.com

In His Service,


Salvador Cariaga http://www.philippinechurchesofchrist.org/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------This document has been forwarded from the ReliefWeb site. Sender: carla calhoun (carlacalhoun2004@yahoo.com) Source: Philippine National Red CrossDate: 06 Dec 2006

As typhoon Reming (international name: Durian) continues to move out of the country, thousands of affected families are left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Houses and infrastructure suffered massive damage from volcanic debris and mudflows from Mt. Mayon, leaving hundreds deadwhile survivors have sought refuge in packed evacuation centers.

Within hours of the disaster, the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) immediately deployed their local disaster response teams to heavilyafflicted areas for rescue and initial relief distribution.

Reports coming in from the field have placed the level of destruction much higher than during the recent typhoon Milenyo. Conflicting initial reports put the death toll anywhere between 200 and 500, and about 140,000 families badly affected. These figures are expected to rise significantly whencommunication lines are restored in areas including Catanduanes andSorsogon.

The PNRC sent three teams of experts yesterday to ravaged areas of Albay, Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Quezon and Marinduque to gain a generalimpression of the scale of damage and to gauge the immediate needs ofaffected families there.

PNRC chairman Richard J. Gordon yesterday (Dec 2) flew over Albay andCatanduanes aboard a chopper and observed that, while there was apparently heavier loss of lives in Albay, reports indicate that Catanduanes seems to have suffered heavy damage to property and infrastructure. He also met with some government officials of Albay and Catanduanes who told him of their commitment to assist the affected families.

"Because of the typhoon's extensive damage to property and infrastructure," said Gordon, "many people are without roofs over their heads or access to essential services." He also noted that food and drinking water are inshort supply; details, however, as to the number of families and days they need to be served have not yet been finalized.

The most vulnerable communities, Gordon pointed out, are those living adistance away from the urban centers, whose farms have been heavilydamaged, with coconut plantations and rice fields, as well as banana and abaca groves rendered virtually unproductive for the next season.

"With little alternative sources of sustenance," said Gordon, "thesevulnerable communities need immediate relief to tide them over for theimmediate term, and then some assistance to get them back on their feetwith livelihood assistance.

"It is vital to help them regain their self-reliance and dignity, for this is the core humanitarian mission of the Red Cross: “ to help save lives, improve lives," added Gordon.

For his part, Roger Bracke, head of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) delegation in Manila, said of the aerial surveywith Gordon as well as of interviews with people on the ground that"communities are still shell-shocked" and that ongoing food distribution is "on a scale that is not relevant."

Bracke added that they saw about 80-150 buried houses with only the roofs showing, adding however that he cannot release any figures yet based onjust one visit. More assessment teams will be deployed in the coming days to help form a more complete picture of the typhoon damage.

The international community has been responding well to the disaster. The IFRC has released an initial emergency assistance of 100,000 Swiss Francs from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund, and is preparing to release aninternational appeal soon. The Netherlands Red Cross has pledged 40,000Euros.

The Canadian government has also pledged one million Canadian dollars, half of which was coursed through the IFRC and the other 500,000 through theCanadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

"We need to send out the message that, while we will dig into our ownresources in response to this disaster, our means are inadequate and wewill appreciate and welcome humanitarian assistance in whatever form that the world can extend to us in this time of great need," said Gordon.

As for local companies, the Rotary Club pledged to contribute in-kinddonations, while Globe Telecom is accepting donations through its G-Cash and Donate-A-Load programs. Smart Philippines, on the other hand, willdistribute relief supplies in Albay together with the PNRC on Monday.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the documents carried by theReliefWeb site are those of the authors and are not necessarily shared by UN OCHA or the ReliefWeb secretariat. Inclusion of links to sites outside the United Nations does not imply endorsement of the contents of thosesites. Any user comments added to forwarded Email messages are those of the comment authors.

AND FINALLY: TEXT MESSAGES FROM RELIEF WORKERS IN THE DISASTER AREAS. I will cut and paste as they were sent to me. Salvador has provided "translations" of the shorthand texts and of some of the language where necessary.

Another typhoon hit the Philippines yesterday. The wind and rain was strong here in Cebu whole day and night. There are flooding here that caused traffic jams around the city. It even leaked in my house. They had to cancel the ASIAN SUMMIT, a meeting of heads of state in the region due to the weather. However, our woes here are nothing compared to the Bicol area. Jun Arcilla, a veteran of many disaster relief effort said that it is 100 times worse than the Leyte landslide disaster. Note recent few text messages I got....

Text messages from the local volunteers on the disaster area.....
"Never in a distant history dat Ligaspi, Albay, Daraga xperience dis DELUGE, Dis whole cities u can imagine were covered with flood waters more than 10ft. never be4. Its not an exageration wen I said its 100 times more than GUINSAUGON. Tens of towns ERASED. Manu ar buried, smel of death s all over in many places we saw." Jun Arcilla, preacher, Mandaue Church of Christ, working in the disaster area. 12/8 7:39 pm. Translation: "Never in a distant history that Daraga, Legaspi, Albay experienced this DELUGE. These whole cities you can imagine were covered with flood waters more than ten feet.
Never before. It is not an exageration when I said it is a hundred times more than GUINSAUGON. Tens of towns ERASED. Many are burried. Smell of deth are all over in many places we saw."

" I can feel d fear of d pepol nw dat again ders heavy dwnpour. Im afraid dis wl triger another mud flw at Mayon." Jun Arcilla, minister of Mandaue Church of Christ, working in the disaster area. Translation: "I can feel the fear of the people now that again there's heavy down pour. I am afraid this will trigger another mud flow at Mayon (Volcano)." Sent 12/9/06 at 10pm
"Pilar Sorsogon: Madilim sa labas mlakas ang ulan at hanging bagyo na dito dilikado na naman ang Mayon area. Divotional kami dito. Jst finis our diner with Adi family." Jun Arcilla 12/9/06 9:13 pm. Translation: " Pilar Sorsogon: It is dark outside. The rain and wind are very strong. It is typhoon again here. The Mayon (volcano) area is dangerous again. We are having devotional (service). Just finnished our dinner with the Adi family."
"Medyo mahangin at maulan d2 sa bayandong. Wer ok, nagtransfer kami ng place mas safety." Elmer Palacio, preacher in Babag, Lapu-Lapu City visiting Mayon where her sister's house was completely demolished. Sent 12/0/06 8pm.
Translation: "It is windy and raining hard here in Bayandon. We are ok. We trantransfere to a safer place."
"Ang mga lava frm vomayon sa brgy padang, Legaspi ang na grabehan, maraming namatayang town of St. Domingo mudlow and nakasira, un ang nadaanan namid. Malakas na ulan at medyo mahangin na rin." Elmer Palacio, sent 12/9 2:12 pm
Translation: " The lava from Mayon Volcano is worse in Padang, Legaspi. Many died in the town of St. Domingo due to destruction of the mudflow. We passed by there. The rain is strong and it is windy also."
"Some o most of d ppol hir dont ask clothes ecept sa mga naanod n natabonan ng haws, wat dey nid now, fud, medcine, n 4 rebuilding der house. I dont know kung bagyo nasad kini ron." Elmer Palacio. 12/9 3:04 pm. "Some or most of the people here do no t ask clothes except whose house was washed out or burried. What they need now are food, medicine, and for rebuilding their house. I do not know if another typhoon is coming."
"Im at bayandon na. Kawawa mga ung lugar at tao talaga, 368 hawhold, 207 totaly damage na mga bahay, naanod ung iba. Walang pagkukunan ng income dahil nasira lahat, bago lang kami nagusap sa capt nila." Elmer Palacio.
12/0 11:54 am Translation: "I am at Bayandon already. I feel pity for the place and the people. 368 house hold, 207 houses are totally damaged. Some were washed out. They have no source of income anymore because everything was destroyed. I just spoke to their local chief."


Salvador Cariaga
http://www.philippinechurchesofchrist.org/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
(Dec. 7, 2006)
Filipino Christian workers now on site
"Manila authorities say over 1200 dead. Hundreds of villages destroyed."
Two teams started serving the typhoon victims yesterday in Albay. Jun Arcilla, formerly from Catanduanes, now minister of Mandaue Church of Christ in Cebu, surveyed the area and interviewed the victims. He reported witnessing a sea of refugees. The constant rain is making matters worse for the rescuers and the survivors. The Philippine newspaper PDI estimated that over a million people were displaced with hundreds of villages wiped out.
Elmer Palacio, a preacher in Cebu has a sister in Bacacay, Albay. He said their home was totally destroyed. Her family was devastated and do not know where to go and what to do. A local official found her husband wandering in town aimlessly. I promised emergency fund to tied them over until we get there.
MARCH for Christ also have a small team in Albay. Gigi Caranza and Naga brethren are on site preparing a feeding program for the survivors. A joint medical and dental mission will be held early next week with Dr. Samuel Cariaga and other doctors. Preachers from the churches of Christ will also assist in the counseling and spiritual guidance. We hope to provide food and clothing during this mission. Later on, we hope to participate in the rebuilding program and help provide a new home for those who lost everything. We will also ask Philippine churches of Christ to contribute for this cause. Some have already offered used clothes and money.
BANDS (Body and Soul), led by Dr. John Bailey, has provided us the seed money to respond immediately. We will need $10,000 for next week's mission and more for the second and third. This will help with the medicine, food, clothes, and temporary shelter for the survivors. We also need a portion of this to transport volunteers, feed and house them. To help with this disaster effort , please send it to:



BandS Ministries
P.O. Box 1926
Colleyville, Texas 76034

You may contact Dr. Bailey at jcb2of3@sbcglobal.net www.bandsministries.org or send your help to your home church and they will contact us.
For local donations, please send it to

Jun Patricio c/o Makati Church of Christ.
1598 Archimedes St
Brg Lapaz Makati (near brgh hall)

We are negotiating with Manila brethren who are duly registered with the government to be official conduit of funds locally and abroad. The information should be available sometime today. For more information, please contact me or Jun Patricio at bonifaciopatricio@yahoo.com MARCH for Christ can be reached through Chito Cusi at lpcusi@yahoo.com


In His Service,

Salvador Cariaga
http://www.philippinechurchesofchrist.org/