The stories and images coming out of the typhoon-ravaged areas of the Philippines are horrifying and heartbreaking.

Super Typhoon Haiyan (Philippine name: Yolanda) first made landfall in Guiuan, Samar last November 7 at its peak intensity of 315 km/h, making it the strongest typhoon in recorded history. Then it hit Tolosa, Leyte. It made four more landfalls (in Bantayan and Daanbantayan in Cebu, Panay Island and, lastly, in Busuanga, Palawan) before emerging over the South China Sea on November 8.

“It’s an infrared capture of the cyclone’s eye, taken by the Suomi NPP satellite early November 7.” (Source: “Super Typhoon Haiyan: The Most Powerful Cyclone in History?”)

So far, the bulk of the news reaching the general public has been out of Leyte. There has been very little to almost no news coming from the other affected areas as communication lines are down and some of these places were already difficult to reach even before the storm, resulting in their further isolation from the rest of the world.

Apart from the areas already mentioned, we’ve heard that Malapascua in Cebu is badly affected, as is Iloilo, and the islands of the Calamianes Archipelago in Palawan, which include Coron. Everyday, more and more provinces are being added to the list of affected areas as information slowly trickles in:

Here’s a link to The New York Times’ photos of the storm and its aftermath. And these are before-and-after photos of Tacloban, Leyte as featured in the Washington Post.

There’s so much information on Facebook on how to help that I thought it best to collate what, in my opinion, is most important so that it doesn’t get lost in the rubble, so to speak.

First of all, if you are thinking of volunteering in the areas affected by the storm, you may want to reconsider.

From Oona Paredes, as relayed to her by humanitarian aid workers in the past: IMPORTANT: People without emergency response/humanitarian aid training should NOT try to go visit the directly-hit areas to check on relatives. If you do, you will only get in the way of relief efforts and use resources that survivors and relief workers need in terms of transportation, water, energy, food, sanitation services. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!

A Kathy Chua-Grimme echoes this as she shares her father’s experience in Guiuan:

My dad just got back from [Guiuan] yesterday. He said the whole town was completely destroyed. They’re desperate for help.

He also suggested consolidating donations (prepacked or otherwise) to the larger organizations already on the ground. Sending volunteers just to distribute small scale relief goods may run into more logistical problems like finding shelter and providing meals for the volunteers (meals that could be allocated to people in need). He was lucky to have two meals in two days. The other concern was safety for the volunteers. They’re looting, even in Guiuan, because there’s absolutely nothing left.

But if you still insist on going where you shouldn’t, there’s a post from a Saintz Knight, although I’m not sure if the message originated from him, with tips gathered from Search and Rescue Teams on how to survive volunteering in a disaster area. While it is written rather cheekily in Taglish (Tagalog-English), it is a reminder of the harsh realities one will have to face over there. If the following sounds awkward, it’s because I’m not a skilled translator. This is a loose translation from the original:

1. Keep a low profile, especially when it comes to the supplies that you have. When the victims get hungry, no one will be able to control the crowds if they mob you.

2. There should be a wall in a public area where people can post the names of the missing. Bring lots of paper, tape, pens, especially if the power and communication lines are still down.

3. In the evening, camp in a secure place out of sight. It’s depressing to camp in the vicinity of the hungry because they stare at you from morning to night and you’ll be too ashamed to eat in front of them.

4. Never cook out in the open.

5. Wear old clothes. Blend in with the crowd and don’t stick out. Best to look like you lost everything too. Don’t walk in packs so that you don’t attract attention.

Lose your ego. Volunteer work is not about you. It is about the other. Show some sensitivity and try not to call attention to yourself.

6. Don’t make eye contact and try to walk amongst the crowd. Place all stuff in old used bags.

7. Be discreet when using your mobile phone. Everyone has someone they want to call. Conserve your battery life by setting a specific day and time when you and whomever you have to talk to can talk again. Even mobile phones are hot commodities.

8. Expect that you too will have problems finding decent water supply. You should have designated assembly points A, B and C in case of sudden anarchy. Tip: Identify a tall landmark. Don’t forget to bring extra can openers and lighters. Bring alcohol, a stove and a map.

9. Don’t panic.

10. Don’t panic.

Make no mistake, it is dangerous out there. Do not underestimate hunger and desperation. To quote Edward Gualberto, a storm survivor from Tacloban, Leyte: I am a decent person. But if you have not eaten in three days, you do shameful things to survive.

But don’t lose heart. There are other ways to volunteer.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) needs volunteers to repack goods for distribution to local government units affected by Yolanda.

In Manila, interested volunteers may go to the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) NAIA Chapel Road, Pasay City (beside Airport Police Department & back of Air Transportation Office) with telephone numbers 852-8081, 851-2681 & 0918-930-2356. The Center is open 24-hours and volunteers may repack on shift.

In Cebu, you can go to the Provincial Capitol or call (32) 254-7198/(32) 254 8397 for more information.

If you need directions getting there, Google and Google Maps should show you the way.

You can also volunteer to cut tarp. From Maria Parsons:

We need volunteers to cut down and prepare tarps for use as temporary shelter material. Victims in storm ravaged areas have no means of staying out of the elements, a simple tarp coupled with scavenged materials provides adequate temporary shelter.

We have 2 tons of tarpaulins that need to be cut down to size and packed for distribution. If you are interested in volunteering please go to:

ESI Office
145 Yakal Street
Makati
894 1636 or 894 1618
We are open 24 hours for this effort.

For medical professionals:

Donations in cash and in kind are always welcome.

When preparing goods to donate, it might be best to heed the counsel of those who’ve done this before:

Also from Saintz Knight:

1.) DO NOT PACK NOODLES, RICE OR ANYTHING THAT NEEDS WATER. There is no water and electricity so it is impossible to cook this kind of food. Stick to bread, canned goods that are ready-to-eat and can be opened WITHOUT THE NEED FOR A CAN OPENER.

2.) PACK MEDICINE. Most especially basic medicine (Biogesic, Bioflu, Robitussin, etc). Also if possible, include medicine for surface wounds as many have been wounded because of the debris and fallen rooftops.

3.) PACK AT LEAST ONE BOTTLE OF WATER. People are raging for water (some have even become violent just for water). There is no source of water at all in any part of Tacloban.

4.) PACK CANDLES AND MATCHES. There will be no electricity for a minimum of two months so all people will need these.

5.) ENCOURAGE YOUR RESPECTIVE GROUP/ORGANIZATION TO DONATE BODYBAGS. Bodies are lying around the roads within the city and some of the places have already been filled up with bodies.

From Horis Varos: From past relief ops experience – canned goods with easy pull tabs, donations wrapped in usable blankets are highly suggested.

From Trinazinha SG: FYI, a DSWD standard food pack contains 3 kilos of rice*, 2 cans of corned beef, 4 cans of sardines, 6 packs noodles* and 6 sachets 3in1 coffee*. Good to copy the amounts as they are good for 3 days for a family of 5.

*Given the lack of potable water in the affected areas, I would substitute the rice, noodles and coffee for biscuits, more canned goods and bottles of water.

From Bel S. Castro [with edits]: In response to a call made by the Philippine Red Cross… a typical family of 5… should receive

• Detergent soap/bar (5 pcs)**
• Shampoo (6 sachets)**
• Toothpaste (1 big tube)
• Toothbrushes (5 pcs.)
• Sanitary napkins (1 pack)
• Toilet paper (2 rolls)
• Isopropyl Alcohol (rubbing alcohol)

**To cut down on plastic waste, I suggest providing one big bar of soap rather than five small individual ones, and perhaps a big bottle of shampoo would be better than sachets.

This is also another good idea:

LBC is a courier service based in the Philippines with branches worldwide. It is accepting donations for typhoon victims at all of its outlets until November 30. Please check if there is an LBC near you to get your relief goods to the Philippines. On November 30, they may also need volunteers to repack goods. Here is a list of their branches in the Philippines and around the world.

My first choice would be the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Their website has a drop-down menu and you can choose which cause you want to donate to.

For direct donations to the Philippine Red Cross:

Here’s a list of other options:

Again, from Oona Paredes: Organizations like World Food Programme have a very good rep in terms of maximizing their funds. You might want to look at Catholic Relief Services, World Vision, CARE, Samaritan’s Purse, again IFRC (which is the largest single operation in the country). They all work with local partners in the Philippines. And they were all on the ground either right before the typhoon hit or immediately after.

I would add to that list Médicins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). Please tick the box to restrict the donation to the Philippine relief effort.

If you are in the United States, donating can be as simple as sending a text message to donate $10 to relief operations (source: Huffington Post):

Salvation Army
100 percent of all disaster donations will be used for relief efforts and “to immediately meet the specific needs of disaster survivors.” Text TYPHOON to 80888 to Donate $10 or give online.

Operation USA
The Los Angeles-based nonprofit is sending much-needed water purification supplies to victims and seeking corporate partners to help with delivery. Donate $10 by texting AID to 50555 or give online.

Remember that kindness and compassion go a long way. Treat survivors with respect and dignity. It could easily be you or someone you love at the wrong end of a disaster.

The Filipinos are a strong, resilient people. We will rise again.

18 December 2013

Please read this article that came out in the Washington Post: Five Myths About Helping the Philippines