Let us hope that gov’t authorities will exert best effort to get through Kalibo because news coming out of our beloved hometown is still quite sketchy to date and no one seems aware of the devastation there. We don’t have any major television networks based in the province so we don’t get to see the extent of the damage or hear about what’s going on in Aklan and our kababayans who were impacted by Typhoon Frank last weekend.
It is quite frustrating that with what little bit of news that focus on the plight of our fellow Akeanons that came out so far, they do not give justice AT ALL to the personal accounts of our families and friends who went through this calamity last weekend.
PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD BY REPOSTING THIS MESSAGE AND FORWARDING TO YOUR EMAIL CONTACTS!
PLEASE SEND HELP TO AKLAN — the land of Ati-Atihan and paradise island Boracay!
Thank you to Dad Ed & Mom Jen (Ramirezes) for helping us coordinate that Aklan be included and accommodated in the mobilization of TASK FORCE NOAH (info below)!!!
Please make sure to
INDICATE/SPECIFY THE FOLLOWING:
"GOODS FOR AKLAN" c/o Edsel Ramirez
or
"CASH DONATION INTENT: FOR AKLAN" (coordinated by Edsel Ramirez)
If you have any questions, please text Joanne Parsons at 0920-5178127 or email kidsahoy@yahoo.com.
reposting below from my brother’s blog.
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I couldn’t get through the phone of my mom, although she texted me yesterday that she and dad are ok in Kalibo. The only other text I got was a forwarded one — from my sister Jhera who is currently in Europe. Apparently, my mom’s other text got through and she just forwarded it to us. I guess because lines have been cut-off, there is not much media coverage coming out of Kalibo, and Aklan especially.
Fortunately, blogs have started to come out, although these are second-hand information from relatives who are from Kalibo. Let us pray for the health and safety of everyone.
I have no permission to post the blogs entirely. I will just capture the parts which show us the tragedy that is Typhoon Frank. The last three were emails from friends. I believe in times like this, someone’s information is everyone’s — hopefully to provide faster ways to solve problems, perhaps even save lives.
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"Early morning ng Sunday 10 feet strong current flooded the entire town, reached the second floor/level of big houses….okay lang kung lahat ng mga tao dun ay merong second floor ang mga bahay. they dont have anything to eat there, walang mapagbilhan ng pagkain, even drinking water wala na din…tubig ulan ang iniinom nila."
"Currently, hanggang tuhod and putik sa buong town ng kalibo, madaming barangays ang nawala na sa mapa ng kalibo, even yung bliss community wala na…bubong na lang ng bhay ang nakikita. Just now, 115 dead bodies ang nasa plaza ng Kalibo…they don’t know the number of people died and missing."
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"My auntie recounted that she and my cousin were almost trapped to death when they were in the basement of our building (it’s the commerical building on the corner of Roxas Avenue and Oyo Torong near the bridge to Numancia) trying to salvage some of their stuff when the waters suddenly came rushing it reaching almost to head level in a matter of seconds. Luckily my other cousin was there and he was able to kick the door open and bring them out."
"There are also stories of people just crossing the street who were just lucky to grab onto something when the waters came in from the overflowed Aklan river because if they hadn’t they would surely have been swept away."
"The whole province is now covered in mud now and there are is a dearth of basic resources. A kilo of rice now costs 150 pesos and they have no supply of water and electricity. What is so sad is there is no support coming in from the local or the national government even though there are scores of people dead and injured and badly need help. The story that hit me the most was that of auntie scavenging around for a paracetamol for my cousin suffering from fever due to an infected wound."
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"Regular flights are now restored though. If you are currently outside the country, then prayers are, but if you are in country, you could come home to Kalibo and bring lots of water and canned foods."
"Me and friends are working in Manila and we are all flying home tomorrow and day after tomorrow to bring in supplies for our families. Just got an SMS from my dad advising that there are no more bottled waters available in the market back there."
"If you are familiar with the C. Laserna area, all the shanties were wiped out they say."
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"My family owns a restaurant sa Kalibo, napuno din ng putik yung 1st floor, nasira lahat ng mga kagamitan doon. Yung bahay namin sa Numancia ng flood din, yung pader na concrete ng give up due to the strong current, 7 families ang kinupkop namin since Saturday night, naanod yung bahay, ang iba wala ng mga bubong, walang mga na save na mga damit or gamit, basta mailigtas lang ang mga pamilya nila. They need food, water, clothing and medicine. Walang business in operation ngayon sa kalibo, wala silang mapagkukuhanan ng mga pagkain at tubig…in any way. Again, Kalibo needs your help.."
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"I was able to contact my brother…early this morning. Our conversation was brief because he has to save his cell phone battery. Anyway according to him, the situation in Kalibo is pretty bad. There are 160+ casualties mostly from C Laserna Streets and its vicinities and they are all lined up in the plaza. Even though Capitol’s elevation is a little bit high and not too close to the Aklan River, the water inside our house was above waistline. In fact, both Tatay and Nanay were brought/carried to our neighbor’s house for safety (thanks to our neighbors’ male helpers). The car in our garage is also submerged in water. When the water subsided, it left a 1-foot mud inside the house (our basement is even worse!)."
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"My sister’s house was damaged when the whole coconut tree fell right in the middle of their house. Just grateful to God that no one got hurt. The roofing of my Mom’s house too were damaged..Please help pray for provision and comfort as they try to re build the damaged areas. God Bless all!"
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"This is the worst ever Typhoon in Aklan. Worst hit was Kalibo and the surrounding towns. And what is worst is the Flood, t is not just flood but a mud flow. According to my father it came from the mountains of Libacao. It was raining there 3 days before the typhoon. the Kalibo bridge was submerged and all areas are covered with mud about 4 inches thick. Tops this is not just a simple case of overflowing river but I think a highly deforested mountains in Libacao. A river that overflowed will not bring a thick mud. The mud could not be washed away by spraying with water, this one needs to be shoveled."
"Our house was also affected by the flood, although only the first level. worst is the mud after the flood. Food is scarce, there is a shortage of rice supply as well as bread. the price of rice is already at P100/kilo. There is still no electricity, they also need to queue up to charge up their cellphone from someone who has a generator set and power is expected to be restored only after a month."
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It was like a nightmare as I was listening to my sister^s story. I couldn’t imagine how fearful she was & my mom waiting for anybody to rescue them from the roof of my sister^s house in Capitol Subd. According to her, town of Kalibo was covered with mud & water. She almost died because she can^t swim. Thanks to God^s angel that time that somebody saved her. Also, glad that my mom is a good swimmer though she got a lot of bruises (she’s already 65years old..)
Until now, there^s no electricity, food supply are running out, no banks or atm machines are functioning and no medicines are available. People of Aklan really needs help!! They don^t even received assistance from the Government.
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WANT TO HELP???
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Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB)
& ADMU Disaster Response and Management (DREAM) Team
TASK FORCE NOAH
for the victims of Typhoon Frank
Typhoon FRANK (International Codename: Fengsen) caused vast damages to lives, properties and livelihood of our follow countrymen over the weekend. As of the latest report, the number of casualties has been increasing. Damages were greatly felt in some regions where the actual path of the typhoon crossed. Almost all of the province of Iloilo is submerged in water. People are still stranded on top of the roofs of their houses for two days now in some towns of Iloilo . Other areas of the Visayas are also calling for aid.
General Information: As of 23 June 2008:
- 10,000 families (40,000 individuals) affected of 20 provinces, 10,000 families are in 275 evacuation centers and increasing.
- Under State of Calamity : Provinces of Iloilo , Capiz, Masbate . Cities of Iloilo , Roxas, Zamboanga (selected areas). Municipalities in Bulacan-Paombong and Marilao
- NDCC: Floods, storm surge and landslides mostly in the Visayas and Southern Tagalog have affected 366,444 people. Of the total number of affected people, 182,686 were in the Western Visayas , including 155,005 in Antique province alone.
- Stranded 5,095 passengers, 288 rolling cargo, 90 trucks, 59 passenger buses, 48 small vehicles, and eight sea vessels.
Our contacts in the Philippine Air Force are willing to fly even round-the-clock relief operations for Typhoon Frank’s victims but unfortunately they tell us there are no relief goods to airlift. We are appealing for donations like ready-to-eat goods, water, clothing and/or cash/check for the victims of Typhoon Frank. Primary target of this initiatives are the heavily affected communities and areas not normally reached by relief operations. We intend to send the relief donations immediately for the urgent need of the victims.
*DONATION MECHANISM* :
PLEASE SPECIFY "GOODS FOR AKLAN" c/o Edsel Ramirez
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GOODS
You may directly donate your goods: ready-to-eat goods, clothing, water at Room 102 Cervini Residence Hall, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights , Quezon City .
Also needed are medicine, water purification tablets, banig, blankets, mosquito nets…
Contact Person : Mr. Tim Gabuna
Trunkline : 426-6001 local 5932
Direct line : 426-6119
Mobile number : 0920-9609802
CASH/CHECK: PLEASE SPECIFY "CASH DONATION INTENT: FOR AKLAN" (coordinated by Edsel Ramirez)
Direct deposits may be made to:
SIMBAHANG LINGKOD NG BAYAN (Account Name/Payee)
Bank of the Philippine Islands (Loyola-Katipunan Branch)
Peso Checking Account Number : 3081-1111-61
Dollar Savings Account Number : 3084-0420-12
Or channel to:
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan
Loyola House of Studies
Ateneo de Manila University
Loyola Heights 1108, Quezon City
Contact Information:
Landline : 426-6101 loc. 3440/3441
Telefax : 426-5968
Mobile : 0922-8600-752 (SUN-8600-SLB)
Look for : Ms. Marj Tejada
For proper acknowledgement:
- Please fax a copy of the validated deposit slip to SLB through telefax 426-5986
- Kindly indicate contact information: Name, address, email, landline/mobile
- Those who wish to be anonymous may skip this procedure
FOR GCASH TRANSACTION:
1. Any Globe or TM subscribers should be registered first in Gcash before doing any Gcash transaction.
2. To register, just text the syntax REG_4 digit M-PIN/mother’s maiden name/first name/last name/address and send to 2882
Ex: REG 1234/Getino/Liwanag/Ferdinand/766 Metrica St. Sampaloc Manila and send to 2882
3. When the subs already done with cash in, he may now able to do donate or any Gcash transaction he wanted
To Donate: Just text the syntax
DONATE_AMOUNT_4 digit M-PIN_INSTITUTION CODE and send to 2882
Ex. DONATE 100 1234 SLB and send to 2882
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BRO. ISMAEL JOSE CHAN-GONZAGA, S.J.
Executive Director
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan
MR. ADEL BRIONES
Associate Director, CCS
Ateneo
School of Government
Convenor, ADMU DREAM TEAM
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