At least 500 people are dead and 280 missing in the most powerful typhoon to hit Luzon and Metro Manila in nine years, Bill Sidney, Philippine regional director, told the WN by phone Nov. 6.
"Our home was shaking with the power of the wind last Friday [Nov. 3]," he said. Power was off for 21 2 days in some areas of Manila. Some outlying areas will not have power for weeks.
"As far as we know from pastors here in Manila, everyone seems to be OK," said Mr. Sidney.
Winds were clocked at 250 kilometers (155 miles) per hour in southern Luzon. A baby swinging in a hammock attached to the roof of a house was blown away along with the roof. Thankfully the baby was recovered alive.
At presstime Mr. Sidney had been unable to contact brethren attending five churches in the Bicol area, where there were many fatalities.
Only days earlier, another typhoon struck the Visayas region, claiming the lives of 221 people and destroying the home of one member.
Flooding and lahar flows have severely affected brethren in Pampanga. A number of families have had to leave the area, including the parents of the Dizons and two of the Dizon brothers and their families.
Other families also have been affected. Max Fabricante said when they leave the house, they have to pass through a knee-high buildup of silt and mud in their yard.
Mr. Sidney approved emergency assistance to the families affected. Please remember the brethren and other Filipino families who have been severely affected by these storms.
[ Worldwide Church of God | Worldwide News | November 14, 1995 ]
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