Disaster can strike at any moment, especially a natural disaster. On November 8th, super typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines without ample warning, leaving no mercy in her path.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Philippines has seen its share of tropical super storms before, but Haiyan was the strongest typhoon to hit the country in two decades, with wind forces three times as powerful as Hurricane Katrina.

I remember hearing about the earthquake in Haiti and Japan; I felt bad but I had no personal connections with it.

Haiyan is different for me, because my father is from the Philippines. I am half Filipina. Both of my late grandparents lived there, and I still have relatives living there. It is personal now and in the strongest way I want to help the country overcome and rebuild, but I can only hope and pray that it gets better for the people of the Philippines.

I received bad news a few days after the storm. My father found out that we did lose some family. My father’s cousin is missing, and the one person he is closest to that lives there, his aunt, has not been heard from.

It is scary. More frightening is the fact that my family still doesn’t have access to any more information. The Filipinos currently only have access to the outside world through those who are bringing in aid. Many people are lost and trying to find their surviving family members.

James Hookway, Cris Larano and Te-Ping Chen of The Wall Street Journal write: “Government engineers and telephone companies have established phone and Internet links in parts of Tacloban City, one of the worst-hit by the typhoon.”

Authorities’ death toll estimate of 10,000 is down to 2,500 deaths, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

CNN reported that three out of every four people that died were children, and the most often cause of death was drowning.

It breaks my heart to think how much people are struggling with loss.  Some housing units in the country were just simple huts, lacking the strong foundation they desperately need.

We cannot lose hope. The Philippines has received aid from countries all over the world, with more on the way.

One thing comes to my mind when I question how I can help– pray. Pray for those who have lost their lives from the storm, those who survived, the families, those near and far helping the country, and its victims, so they may find hope for their future and for their country.