Monday, November 11, 2013

Yolanda: Typhoon Haiyan: 30 members of one family missing after storm By Hilary Whiteman, CNN November 11, 2013



SHARE THIS

Typhoon Haiyan: 30 members of one family missing after storm

November 11, 2013 -- Updated 1756 GMT (0156 HKT)
Rogelio Tan, 68, is seen on the right. His family fears for his safety, along with dozens of other relatives in Tacloban.
Rogelio Tan, 68, is seen on the right. His family fears for his safety, along with dozens of other relatives in Tacloban.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Three days after Typhoon Haiyan, families fear for silent loved ones
  • Around 30 members of Daisy Nemeth's extended family are missing
  • Family's trying to hire someone to go to Tacloban to find them
  • Her 68-year-old uncle is missing, with children, wife, grandchildren, cousins
Hong Kong (CNN) -- Their faces stare from old photos, their voices silent since Super Typhoon Haiyan swept through Tacloban in the Philippines on Friday.
At first Daisy Nemeth wasn't worried. Her family was close, they kept in touch. Soon, no doubt, she'd hear from her home in Hong Kong that all were safe.
But three days later, that call hasn't come.
Around 30 family members are missing.
"It's my uncle, my mom's brother is missing. All his children, his wife, everyone. My cousin is missing with her six children, they range in age from 9 to 19. Then I have many, many other missing cousins. But these are the ones we're the closest with -- and they're nowhere to be found," Nemeth said.
She'd be there in a heartbeat to look for them herself, she said, but at six months' pregnant and a mother to twin toddlers, there's no way she can go, even if she could find a way in.
Instead, her family, some of whom are based in Denmark, has been trying to hire someone to go to Tacloban to search for them, but no one seems to want to go.
"If no one can or is even willing to do it, I can't even begin to imagine the situation there," she said.
"In the Philippines you can buy anything and anyone. I hate to say it but that's the truth. So if we can't even pay someone to go in and look for them..." Nemeth said, her voice trailing off.
Nemeth's uncle, Rogelio Tan, is 68 years old and suffers from a severe learning disability. She's concerned for his safety if he's left to fend for himself.
She says her uncle doesn't always make the most sensible decisions, and fears what could happen "if he doesn't have his children with him to make good decisions for him."
Haiyan's trackHaiyan's track
Aid agencies trying to reach survivors
Typhoon survivors seek help at airport
Nemeth is checking Facebook pages where lists have been posted of survivors found in medical centers, and others are posting photos of lost family members in the hope that someone's seen them.
One of the largest is "Tacloban (and nearby Waray Towns) Yolanda Update" where more than 17,000 users are swapping messages in a mixture of English and the local language, Tagalog.
Among the pleas for help are stories of survival.
"THANK YOU LORD JESUS CHRIST... just got a call from our mother and they are all complete and safe... they survived by drinking only water in our deep wheel without foods in 4 days... they walked 6 hours to reach the Tacloban City Hall just to be able to contact us.. they are now going to the airport to take the C130 to Cebu with my relatives," writes William Sherwin Ay-Ay.
Nemeth is hoping for a similar tale of survival but so far has seen nothing that has offered anything beyond graver fears that her family has disappeared without a trace.
"I've seen all the pictures and I'm scouring the pictures but I can't even recognize the neighborhoods," she said. "According to some Facebook groups, the area my uncle was in, it isn't even there any more."
And so the family's search goes on.
ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
Typhoon Haiyan
November 11, 2013 -- Updated 2116 GMT (0516 HKT)
The stories coming out of the Philippines are unimaginable. Rushing water and wind tearing children away from their parents' arms. A city of 200,000 in which no buildings appear to have survived intact.
November 11, 2013 -- Updated 1756 GMT (0156 HKT)
Their faces stare from old photos, their voices silent since Super Typhoon Haiyan swept through Tacloban in the Philippines on Friday.
November 11, 2013 -- Updated 1240 GMT (2040 HKT)
I was gob-smacked as we made our final approach into the ruins of the airport in Tacloban -- the first major population center in the Philippines to be struck by Super Typhoon Haiyan.
November 10, 2013 -- Updated 1635 GMT (0035 HKT)
Super Typhoon Haiyan roared into the central islands of the Philippines last week, wiping out entire neighborhoods, ripping children off their parents' arms and leaving a trail of devastation.
November 10, 2013 -- Updated 1356 GMT (2156 HKT)
Victims tell of their terrible plight amid the destruction.
November 11, 2013 -- Updated 0727 GMT (1527 HKT)
It was the cruelest of ironies unleashed by Super Typhoon Haiyan.
November 10, 2013 -- Updated 1403 GMT (2203 HKT)
CNN's Andrew Stevens was on the ground in Tacloban as Typhoon Haiyan brought a storm surge to the Philippines coast.
November 11, 2013 -- Updated 1853 GMT (0253 HKT)
The storm affected 4.3 million people in 36 provinces and displaced more than 340,000.
November 10, 2013 -- Updated 1418 GMT (2218 HKT)
A day after Super Typhoon Haiyan swept across the Philippines, CNN's Jim Clancy has a look at the storm's destruction.
November 10, 2013 -- Updated 1637 GMT (0037 HKT)
No building in this coastal city of 200,000 residents appears to have escaped damage from Super Typhoon Haiyan.
Are you in the affected area? Send us your images and video but please stay safe.
November 10, 2013 -- Updated 1421 GMT (2221 HKT)
Storm chaser, James Reynolds shot some incredible video of the super typhoon as it hit Tacloban City.
November 9, 2013 -- Updated 1801 GMT (0201 HKT)
CNN Producer Tim Schwarz and CNNI Anchor Andrew Stevens help rescue people inside a hotel during Typhoon Haiyan.
November 10, 2013 -- Updated 0021 GMT (0821 HKT)
The U.S. government had pledged an array of support from monetary aid to search-and-rescue missions to help typhoon-devastated Philippines.
November 8, 2013 -- Updated 2217 GMT (0617 HKT)
Cleanup efforts are beginning after Super Typhoon Haiyan left the Philippines devastated. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports.
November 8, 2013 -- Updated 2137 GMT (0537 HKT)
Witness Joe Curry, with Catholic Relief Services, was on Bohol Island when the typhoon hit.
November 9, 2013 -- Updated 0340 GMT (1140 HKT)
Paula Hancocks describes what she saw while flying over the region devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan.
November 10, 2013 -- Updated 1954 GMT (0354 HKT)
Powered by ferocious winds, the fast-moving Super Typhoon Haiyan swept through the Philippines, a country of more than 92 million people all too familiar with destructive storms.
ADVERTISEMENT

No comments:

Post a Comment