On Friday the 16th December at approximately 10pm local time the Northern Tip of Mindanao between the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro and their surrounding districts was hit by the typhoon Sendang. The typhoon brought very heavy rains which by the time they ran down into the rivers which reach the sea along the northern coast it was around 4.30am Saturday morning. Most of the local inhabitants were asleep when the rivers burst their banks and the torrents of water swept through their homes. Many people were literally swept away in the swell of the torrents and subsequently drowned those fortunate enough headed for higher ground or even their rooftops or anything higher than the water level which included trees.
The aftermath of this dreadful event was to leave in excess of 500 dead and countless missing presumed drowned or buried in the devastation.
Both cities and particularly Cagayan de Oro which is closest to Bethany have been devastated with still large parts without power or running water. Aid agencies are working flat out to help those affected by the devastation and the resulting trauma.
Talakag where Bethany is located is still cut off from Cagayan de Oro due to the road being blocked by several landslides still to be cleared. There is also no power in Talakag area due to lines being down so there is no direct communications with them. There is also no water due to the power outage. I know the people of Talakag will make do as will the staff of Bethany till things can be put right that is the nature of the Filipino.
My concern is for the future when the mess is sorted and the children affected by this disaster need to be placed as will surely happen. Children will have lost parents and siblings, some parents will not be able to cope after loosing all in the storm resulting in children requiring care.
With Bethany not being funded by anyone other than individual donations they are going to require your help and urgently.
Please if you can spare a little let me know by direct mail to me and I will get back with instructions of how to send your donation to reach Bethany.
I don’t wish to post pictures of the disaster here as the situation has already been widely publicised and would only cause more distress to those who have been affected.
God bless all those who have survived this ordeal and give them the strength to continue.
