Filipino Catholics in Perth are worried for their families affected by the destructive typhoon Haiyan, which tore through the Philippines last weekend.
Winds of more than 330 kilometres per hour battered the nation, making it the strongest typhoon in the world this year, and possibly the most powerful to hit land ever.
Cloverdale parish priest Fr Nelson Po hails from the island of Leyte, where the typhoon caused the most damage and could have claimed as many as 10,000 lives.
Fr Nelson, whose family lives on the island, described the situation as “worrying”. “Up to now I haven’t really heard from my family because all communication lines are cut off, power lines, everything,” he said.
“For three days now I haven’t heard from my parents, and the anxiety’s just building up. I’ve spoken to my brother who lives in the next island in Cebu, but that island was not affected very much, and he cannot even phone our parents there either.”
Typhoons and cyclones are fairly common in the Philippines, Fr Nelson said, although this is the first time his family has been directly affected by the natural disaster.
“We have 20 cyclones a year on average,” he said.
“It’s always around this time, November and December, that we have these monster typhoons. But this year it’s really bad because it’s the strongest one in the world this year. “From memory, this is the first time that my birthplace is really affected. There have been minor, weaker typhoons, once or twice a year, but none of this magnitude.”
In December 2012, the southern part of the Philippines was hit by typhoon Bopha, killing more than 1,000 people. The Soh family of Perth, who regularly travel to the Philippines to donate goods, have already organised to fill a container with donations for those affected by the typhoon, which will be sent in two weeks’ time.
Chaplain to the Filipino Catholic community in Perth, Fr Armando Carandang, told The Record he would offer two Masses for those affected by the typhoon.
“The Filipino Chaplaincy of the Archdiocese of Perth is planning an immediate Mass this weekend for the souls of all people who died in the recent catastrophe in the Philippines,” he said.
Mass for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 will also be held in honour of the survivors of the disaster, with the entire financial contribution at Mass to be sent to the Philippines.
For details about the Masses, contact Fr Armando on 9361 5710 or 0401 197 310 or at frarmando@perthcatholic.org.au.