i think hes in cebu, so he should of missed the worst i cannot find details of the exact area the storm hit but power is still down. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24878801
Please give us a report Ray. News on the region hasn't been great to say the least. Hope you are doing better than some others I have heard from.
I chatted with a Filipino early this morning in Dubai airport. He said all comms are out to a lot of Philippines. He had no way to contact his family and could only wait. Might be awhile.
Ok here in the middle of Cebu Island ... Looks like the worst went all north of me by 40 miles or so beginning at the northern tip of Cebu ... No electricity here for 2.5 days ... Not really sure why because damage here was so little ... Just some big winds (maybe 100mph gusts?) for 3 hrs or so and some intense but short rain fall mixed in with the wind ... Wind gusts were the scariest ... I looked out a few times and it was bad on the few small trees around me so I just closed the curtains and listened to it mostly ... (I'm still trying to call you for the parts order ... it seems the older I get, the less I can get accomplished ) Danao City, Cebu (and on southward towards Cebu City) where I'm at is OK .. Big winds and rainfall and all adsorbed by the island except for the banana trees who got blew over ... Not exactly sure where the damage on Cebu started at, but on the northern tip where Bogo City is located at, it took a big hit ... I like Bogo City and hope it is well... The news is full of the Tacolaban, Letye mess ... Looks really weird how it got hit big by the storm surge yet it is hidden by Samar island on the east... Apparently the storm surge was from the south and just pushed into that area ... Palo, Leyte, where MacArthur landed at, is just south of Tacolaban, must have taken a big hit ... Camotas Island is OK from what I heard ... Bantanyan Island off the northern tip of Cebu also, might have taken a big hit also ... Small island that is somewhat flat with lots of native homes ... Malapasuca Island off Cebu also, was in the direct path pretty much ... Not alot of people there and very native ... Probably took a big hit ... Masbate Island is not being talked much about ... It will be on the northern side of the storm... Masbate City is pretty modern but again, no land terrain protection around it that I can remember ...Pretty primitive there and I hope it is OK ... I was treated very well the couple of times I was there ... Panay Island along the northern coast (Roxas City area) sounds like it took a direct hit from the storm as it traveled across the island chain ... This is also the jump-off area for going to tourist spot, Boracay Island ... It got some big winds also ... This storm did not loose its intensity as it crossed the different islands so Panay, on the far west side of the island chain, got plenty of wind I'm afraid ... Lots of rice grown there to blow over . Mindoro Island on further west ..not really sure ... No real reports about Negros either ... That had a MX race over there today in San Carlos so maybe they are doing OK there. Its all a little scatter now and will take a few more days or a week before all the reporting can be gathered ... That's about all there is to do with the lights gone out and the winds a-howling outside ... -- In the past, it has taken up to a month to get power back on to even the larger places after these type storms ... This is really gonna be a slow slug back to where the islands had progressed to ... -- Thanks for all your concerns ... I gotta say, these type events make a mortal man feel very small ...
Thanks and I'm keeping low for a few days and hoping for the best for everyone ... Here is a pic from all the stuff I've looked at here on the destruction... You might have noticed most pics show wood of some type all mangled ... Everyone here knows those structures are not gonna make it ... But if you look closely, lots of what you see here is cement slabs in pieces...Not sure what this was, but with the tin laying around, it looks like small cement homes that might have been totally destroyed by the wind and water ... Or this might just be foundations and walls that have collapsed ...
Ray, that's horrible! Saw and read about it in the news, my prayers for you and every Filipinos impacted by this typhoon.
