Philippine typhoon

[InSutterWeTrust]

I saw a tweet yesterday that Shaw is allowing free calls to the Philippines until further notice.

Seeing some of these pictures before and after is just horrible, a lot of devastation in this country.

[Huntingwhale]

Just heard from some of my relatives, and the destruction is unimaginable. Apparetly there are many cases of people taking shelter in government buildings and schools. But the infrastructure of those buildings is so inferior to ours (mud, wooden walls, etc) that many hundreds of people were injured as the buildings collapsed around them, trapping them under the rubble.

Cebu City was largely unaffected other then large rainfall and heavy wind. It is the largest port city in the country and is now being used as the central hub for all emergency operations. To the east and north of Cebu City is where the worst of the damage occured. Entire towns have been wiped out. These people have nothing, and many returned to their rubbled homes not only to seek belongings, but because they have no where else to go and their choices were to either be exposed in the rain on the streets, or try and hide under whatever shelter remained in their homes. Most of the homes are shanty-type ''houses'' and when I was there last month, you could easily run into a wall and knock it down if there wasn't concrete support. Many homes also do not have floor foundations and are built on the bare dirt. Imagine all that muddy water under your feet as you try and navigate your own home.

I will try and post some pictures from FB tonight that my cousin's have posted. While I am grateful they are all safe as all my family is in Cebu City, I can't imagine what it's like to lose everything you own in the surrounding towns. This is the biggest natural disaster in the country's history, and the death toll is only going to get higher as emergency workers finally make it into towns that have been cut off from rescue.

[InBurkeWeTrust]

I haven't heard anything from family and my mom hasn't either. I'm hoping everyone is okay.

Didn't see the 3x donation.. donating now

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by InBurkeWeTrust

I haven't heard anything from family and my mom hasn't either. I'm hoping everyone is okay.

Didn't see the 3x donation.. donating now

I just donated as well, thanks to ramizle for pointing that out.

[undercoverbrother]

Does the US still have bases in the Philippines?

[I-Hate-Hulse]

No, Clark AFB and Subic Bay were all closed in the 90's.

[Mazrim]

Can someone clarify why this Typhoon is named Haiyan and Yolanda? Why not only one name?

[Huntingwhale]

An interactive before/after slider to show some of the damage.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...93971305978200

Spoiler!

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2....html?ref=asia

[Acey]

Originally Posted by T@T

3.5X more powerfull than Katrina...hard to grasp.

What is this 3.5x figure referring to? Katrina 1 minute winds 280 kph and pressure 26.64, Haiyan 315 and 26.43. I thought these were the 2 general metrics for measuring storms. Haiyan is worse, but not massively so.

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

Can someone clarify why this Typhoon is named Haiyan and Yolanda? Why not only one name?

I guess the Philippines uses it's own naming system, which is where Yolanda comes from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Pa...typhoon_season
(scroll down towards the bottom and it explains it there)

[prarieboy]

From SHAW Cable

Our thoughts are with those impacted by the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan.

To ensure our customers remain informed of the latest developments of this tragic storm, Filipino networks GMA Pinoy, TFC and FTV are immediately available to all customers until November 17th. A subscription to these channels will not be required during this time and no customer action is required to receive these channels.

To find these channels on your Shaw service, please see Channels 507 (GMA Pinoy), 509 (TFC) and 510 (FTV).


All long-distance calls to the Philippines will also be offered to all Shaw Phone customers at no additional cost until further notice.

[killer_carlson]

$100.00 donated by our household.

Challenge is issued to the rest of you to meet or beat $100.00.

[Acey]

Good stuff from Shaw with the channels and free phone service. Somewhat impressive that they were able to set it up so quickly.

[Flamesoholic]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

$100.00 donated by our household.

Challenge is issued to the rest of you to meet or beat $100.00.

$100.00 from our family to UNICEF Canada

[verda13]

Originally Posted by Flamesoholic

$100.00 from our family to UNICEF Canada

$100 from me... thanks for the link!