The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of several groups in the Philippines providing relief after Typhoon Karding swept through the northern islands, causing flooding and wind damage to buildings, reported the Church’s Philippines Newsroom.
The typhoon affected the northern portion of Quezon Province, including the Polillo Islands, as well as most of Central Luzon and parts of Ilocus, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon and the Bicol Region. More than 700,000 people have been affected, and nearly 12,000 people took shelter in 127 evacuation centers, including several Church meetinghouses, during the typhoon’s landfall on Sunday, Sept. 25. At its peak, 1,165 people used 32 meetinghouses as temporary shelters for Church members and community residents who lived nearby.
The typhoon, known internationally as Typhoon Noru, intensified from the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 5 in about six hours, according to news reports. Winds were peaking at 160 mph when it made landfall late Sunday, Sept. 25, in the northern islands of Luzon. It weakened and headed to Vietnam, where it caused blackouts and blew roofs off homes, and to Thailand, where the tropical storm causes flooding, according to news reports.
In the Philippines, mission leaders reported that all missionaries in the affected areas were safe and accounted for after the typhoon, according to Philippines Newsroom.
The Church has been helping deliver food, hygiene and temporary shelter kits to several communities through partnerships with representatives of the Alagang Kapatid Foundation, Naval Reserve Command and Multi-Sectoral Linkaging Committee. They were working on distributing 3,000 food kits, 500 hygiene kits and 1,000 temporary shelter kits.
Also, 1,300 essential food items were sent to those in the Cabanatuan and Gapan stakes and the Bongabon Philippines District.
