Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines are continuing to monitor the impact of heavy rainfall and flooding across the country.
According to the Associated Press, Typhoon Co-may made landfall on Friday, July 25, after seasonal monsoon rains and two earlier typhoons had already swamped much of the country for more than a week. The storm had sustained winds just over 80 miles per hour, making it roughly equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic.
As of Tuesday morning, more than 6 million people were affected by flooding, including 1.85 million families, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. At least 25 deaths were blamed on the flooding as of Sunday evening.
The most severely affected areas include Central Luzon, the Ilocos Region and Western Visayas, according to a news release from the Church’s Philippines Newsroom.
All Latter-day Saint missionaries in the country are safe and accounted for.
Four Church facilities in Bulacan and Pangasinan sustained damage due to heavy rain, strong winds and rising floodwaters, according to the Philippines Newsroom.
Several Latter-day Saint meetinghouses have opened as temporary shelters, where 400 people have sought refuge from flooded neighborhoods.
The Church is also working to donate more than immediate emergency aid to those seriously impacted. Local Church leaders are also working to minister to members in need in the country.
The Church recently donated flooding and preparedness equipment to Santa Rita, a municipality in the province of Samar, Philippines, with the goal to enhance the town’s capacity to respond to flooding.
The donation included a rescue boat, an extrication kit, a generator set and other essential items, according to the Philippines Newsroom.
The Church also donated thousands of relief kits to people in October 2024, after Typhoon Kristine caused major damage.
After that storm, Church News reported that nearly 900 people — both Latter-day Saints and friends of other faiths — found refuge in Latter-day Saint meetinghouses.
