This morning was the first time in so many days that it did not rain. There was a mild shower early in the morning where I was staying, but that was quickly replaced by some sunlight unsuccessfully trying to peek through curtains of thick clouds.

I’m sitting in Manila airport and looking outside, I can see thick clouds but these are not loaded with moisture yet and I think there’s no immediate threat of heavy rain. It’s very humid and warm which, in the circumstances, is not a bad thing for people.

“Everything is lost”

Mr N Hadialba was my taxi driver from the hotel to the airport. I did not ask his age. He must be around 30 but looks younger. He is married and has two children aged 4 and 7. He and his family used to live in his house with his mother in law. Their house was inundated by the flood waters.

He was able to save his wife and children but his mother in law died. He works in a hotel as a bell boy and has taken two weeks paid leave and is driving the taxi to get some daily income.

He says everything is lost. He does not have clothes for work nor any food for his children. That is why he is driving to get some money to provide for his family. He is grateful that their lives are spared and feels for his wife who is grieving the death of her mother.

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As I start to type this report, the radio is blaring out information on the current situation of Typhoon Parma. The information is that the storm is making landfall over Luzon which is the province in the north of Philippines.

There is a better preparedness this time with the local government agencies evacuating people from flood prone areas to public buildings such as schools, for shelter.

It rained most of the night in Manila but the rain was moderate. I’m staying in a hotel close to COSE office. This is on an elevated area and does not flood as much. The rain this morning is not heavy. However the information we have from the low lying areas is that some places had waist deep water.

We all are hoping and praying that the flood level will not increase otherwise this time the situation will get worse. All the garbage that is sitting outside most of the houses will float around and bring much more misery and hardship to the affected people.

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I am out in Manila in the Philippines, working with our partner COSE to bring urgently needed assistance to those affected by the devastating floods.

There is still some water on the roads but most of the houses are OK. People are busy cleaning their houses. But everything inside the houses is gone.We saw piles and piles of household items thrown outside. We were taking pictures of the piles of garbage. In some case there is 2 feet of mud inside the house. They will have to start all over again. It is going to be very hard.

Eight of the COSE staff houses were flooded up to the roof. They have also lost everything. One of them (Peng) sat on the roof of her house with her two children for seven hours before being rescued. They are emotionally devastated, yet are going out with the team for distribution. They also need support to rebuild.

To read more about the relief effort, click here.

To read more testimonials, go to our emergencies blog.