Where to send help

Hello everyone, sorry for the lack of updates. I hope you're all doing well. Northern Luzon is slowly recovering the Pepeng's wrath, thanks to the generosity and bayanihan of the people.

I wanted to gather a list of places you can go to help, or donate, but there's just too much information. Thankfully, friends from Sayote Republic have done just that, so I'm linking to it.

For help to Typhoon Pepeng victims in Northern and Central Luzon.

News: Flooded cemetery disgorges tombs, bones

Flooded cemetery disgorges tombs, bones
By Robert Gonzaga
Inquirer.net (source)

BOTOLAN, Zambales – It was surreal and frightening sight that greeted residents here this week: Floating coffins and corpses, body parts and human bones washed ashore.

In the village cemetery of Paco, which is now littered with the ripped clothing of corpses and where the odor of rotting flesh lingers in the air, several rows of tombs lay open or submerged in floodwater.

All around the area, villagers rushed to save whatever was left of their departed relatives: clothes worn by the dead, their caskets and their bones.

Sunken tombs had gaping holes where villagers pulled the remains to save them from being swept away by rampaging floodwaters.

Since Typhoon “Kiko” dumped heavy rains and breached a major dike that flooded the town in August, residents had started worrying about the flooded cemetery.

“I went to look for my father who was buried there and did not find him. His body was one of those that got swept by the water along with many other corpses,” said Feliciano Pagar, 52.

He said he had to destroy the tombs of his brother and his child who were buried there “so I won’t lose them.”

“I opened their tombs and took their bones out of there. I had to do it, most residents were doing it, too,” he said.

Pagar said he asked local officials if the town government could pay for the transfer and burial of the remains of his relatives to another area in the cemetery.

“I don’t have the money to pay for another burial. Their remains are now in small tombs provided for those who asked for them,” he said.

Flooding in Botolan was aggravated by heavy rains spawned by tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng.”

Some of the floods were also believed brought by excess water released from dams that were connected to river systems leading to Zambales and other provinces in Central Luzon.

Essential links for help to Northern Luzon

Friends, I'm happy to report that the Filipino online community is getting up and making things happen to help our kababayans in Northern Luzon. Here are some links that will help, courtesy of MLQ3:

Essential link No. 1: Pls. make sure to report No. Luzon rescue calls here

Essential link No. 2: GMA7 also has an emergency/rescue report form for No. Luzon here

Essential link No. 3: Database of real-time emergencies No. Luzon

Essential link No. 4: GMA7's map of Northern Luzon devastation/emergencies

Essential link No. 5: ABS-CBN flood map.

Essential Links No. 6: Bayanihan Online consolidating Tweets/FB re: No. Luzon.

Hotline numbers for Northern Luzon Typhoon Victims via Ralph Guzman

Northern Luzon needs your help! From The Marocharim Experiment

Thanks.

Note: Will try to constantly update this list. Thanks!

News: Destruction everywhere in Botolan

Destruction everywhere in Botolan
By Robert Gonzaga
Inquirer.net (source)

BOTOLAN, Zambales – After the howling of winds stopped and heavy rains that triggered massive floods here became a drizzle, residents are struggling to regain a sense of normalcy amid the devastation that has swept the town.

In the coastal village of Bangan, a community facing the South China Sea, Conrado Durong, 64, said Typhoon “Pepeng” left an unexpected and unwelcome trace of its passing before it raced toward extreme Northern Luzon.

“Our problem here is not just the flooding, but also the waves coming from the sea. We have to watch out for them every time there is a storm, like this last one,” he said.

Durong said the waves rose to almost as high as some of the coconut trees and crashed into houses along the coast, decimating a section of the village populated by fishermen and their families.

Bigger waves
No one, however, was hurt. Residents did not consider it out of the ordinary because most of them had gone through similar experiences, although Durong said his fellow villagers ran to the town plaza in panic as the waves grew bigger and bigger this time.

“Where the water is now, there were houses before. Each storm that comes here takes away a little of our village. This time, the sea took a lot. My house did not get hit because it was farther away from the shore. But they should build a seawall here just to be safe,” he said.

Mayor Rogelio Yap said the waves might have risen due to high tide and this is the typhoon’s exit path.

“Also, since the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo [in 1991], the shoreline in that area has come closer to the houses there,” he said.

Of eight coastal villages in Botolan, only Bangan was hit hard by crashing waves.

Rice farms gone
A cluster of rice fields which leads to Capayawan, another village of Botolan hit hard by the flooding, is now gone. A wide expanse of agricultural land in Capayawan is now navigable only by boat.

“There used to be farms here. Now there is a new river that leads to the South China Sea. We lost our livelihood. A relative living nearby lost her house. We have to place sandbags in front of our houses to prevent the floodwater from reaching us,” said farmer Manolo Dagsaan, 47, a resident of Capayawan.

He said those who owned boats have been offering rides.

Many residents now fear that a significant area of Botolan would be wiped out by the widespread flooding.

Julius Dimayuga, 37, whose family has lived for a long time in Barangay San Juan near the Bucao Dike, said the dike breached because “it was made of cheap materials.”

Under water
“Now, almost a third of San Juan is under water. A lot of houses there are abandoned. I have taken my family to an evacuation center. It seems like all their focus is on that bridge in Carael but not yet on other parts of Botolan,” he said.

Let's pray for our kababayans in Botolan and other affected areas in Zambales and other provinces.