Seeing the recent photos of the devastation in the Caraga region, particularly in Siargao Island reminded me of these 2013 photos of the municipality of Del Carmen.
Back then I was on assignment with @tmcbn and @maralala.la for a feature story on eco-towns, and Del Carmen was one of the models for the ecological concept.
We chanced upon the town fiesta and so we not only filled our minds and notebooks with story ideas and notes, but also our tummies with plenty of food as well.
I wonder though how the town looks like now after #OdettePH. I hope the town would receive more aid in the coming days. And I hope the people would be able to rebuild their homes and lives soon.
to all my filipino mutuals and supporters living in the philippines, i hope you’re all safe and alright from the recent super typhoon. the aftermaths are terrible especially in certain places in visayas and mindanao. please prioritize your safety and recovery!
(ingat kayo diyan! amping jud mo pirme kay murag wasak kaayo tanan karon. hoping that we all get through this and that all of us at least get to spend christmas with electricity and water. typhoon odette/rai has ravaged so many cities—including mine—but i’m lucky to be one of those whose home wasn’t severely damaged. our net was also restored yesterday, thankfully. but others weren’t so fortunate. )
please, please, please pray for the philippines and if you can, please support/donate to fundraisers that will help the victims of the typhoon. the situation is terrible and most provinces are currently in a state of calamity.
(edit:i’ll attach videos & photos from facebook—credits to their owners—showing the heartwrenching state of various cities right now. warning: graphic content in the links. there’s lack of media coverage about the real situation. almost everything has been wrecked, especially in central visayas and the eastern visayas-mindanao areas. people are struggling to find clean water and electricity may be gone for weeks. many don’t have roofs over their heads now. lines to gasoline stations are kilometers long and as of the moment, stores are closed and if they are, due to lack of net connections, they’re only accepting cash—which is hard since many currently can’t withdraw their money because again, their networks have been cut. it’s chaos here and personally, i’m still trying to get updates from friends/family in those areas.)
Here below are videos (natural disaster trigger warning ahead). I just… I’m crying just seeing what happened and how some people just brush it off like nothing’s happened. People died and people are starving. So many are homeless and have lost their families and they don’t have electricity or clean water. I keep seeing videos on my TikTok and Facebook and it breaks my heart. It’s like the typhoon flattened everything it passed through and it destroyed multiple cities.
You can also find in the comments more ways to donate (e.g. PayPal), especially for those who are from foreign countries/are located internationally. Any help or exposure is appreciated.
thank you, guys. your help would mean a lot to the victims and their families, especially so that they can spend the holidays at least with their basic necessities!
