My husband, bless him, has been thinking things through and has summarised the situation in Tacloban City at the moment to give me personal clarity and direction on my brother and his familys current situation: Tacloban City Status: Options Leaving the city: At the moment there are large queues at the airport for a single operator charging very high prices to fly people out. No baggage possible. Roads are blocked at the moment, but heavy duty trucks are making their way to Tacloban with relief supplies, so roads are being cleared as quickly as possible. There will be queues and difficulty facing the first to attempt to leave by road especially as the road will be a priority route for relief supplies and must be kept passable for the trucks. Staying put: Food, electricity and water supplies are restricted with queues and potential fights to access the limited amount available. Relief efforts: Philippine and American Armies flying in to assist control the city and distribute emergency supplies of food, water, medical care and emergency tents – if needed. Every major international emergency charities such as Oxfam, Red Cross and many more also sending supplies to the city. Sending personal financial assistance: All major remittance routes have failed, status of PNB Bank - likely to have been destroyed along with all other buildings. So our ability to send direct financial assistance is poor at this time – indeed likely impossible. We have sent money to the charities sending in assistance but our main focus will be direct assistance to our family in due course. Recommendations: Everything is going to improve with the passage of time. Roads will be reopened, supplies of water, food and electricity will be restored with the arrival of emergency aid from army and charities. His personal recommendation for my family is: Secure their home as best they can and wait a while at home for emergency services and supplies to arrive. Wait for the roads to clear and be reliable before considering leaving the area. We cannot send immediate cash due to lack of remittance services/ bank services. We shall send money but will keep it for later on in the rebuilding or resettlement period. My husband was particularly moved seeing - amongst the footage of Taclobans struggling waist high through the flooding - that several citizens were clutching, as their only possession, their statuettes of Mother Mary and other Saints. And we both continue to pray for the victims and survivors of this horrendous event, indeed using our own statuette of Mother Mary as a focal point for our devotions. Our thoughts go out to all those still yet waiting to learn of their own familys fate. May Mother Mary hold them safe in her embrace until you can be reunited.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 10:07:01 +0000
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