More Devastation

Today the newly-cleared road allowed me to travel along the eastern coast of Panay island near to where the center of typhoon Haiyan passed. The devastation was heartbreaking. The radio is reporting over 100 deaths in this area and tens of thousands houses destroyed with many more severely damaged. Estancia, a fishing municipality of over 40,000, was declared by the governor to be nearly 100% destroyed.

Although the road was passable, fallen trees and downed electrical lines narrowed much of the road to one-way traffic. Officials say that it will take months to restore power to many of these towns. The people are asking for food, clean water, building materials, and medicines.

My team and I handed out packs of rice, noodles, canned sardines, and water. We listened to their horrifying stories of pounding winds and walls of sea water sweeping away their earthly belongings. We prayed and grieved with the people. We made assessments of priority needs. Tomorrow we will travel inland to the mountain areas where more devastation is reported.