Typhoon Xangsane!!!

All is well here in Iloilo City as Typhoon Xangsane passes through the Philippines as a category 3 typhoon. I have managed to stay somewhat dry. (as dry as one can be when your dodging rain drop on a motorcycle )It has rained the past 3 days and looks like it will rain a couple more. We have been spared from the winds this time but not from the rest of the effects of the typhoon. Iloilo City sits at sea level and is the last stop on the Iloilo River before it dumps out into the ocean. This can be a problem if heavy rains fall in the mountains and countryside because it all runs into the Iloilo River upstream. Last night I heard the fire trucks going through the city warning people of the rising water in the Iloilo River. Sure enough it overflowed its banks and flooded portions of the city with 2 to 3 feet of water. Thank God I live a ways from the river and not to mention my new apartment is elevated off the road and out of the flood plain. Parts of the province are under 5ft of water and entire towns and villages have been wiped away. And it isn't even a direct hit in Iloilo City or our island. It is still rainy season and looks as if another Typhoon is gathering its self just east of the country and may hit the country in another week. Please pray for us as we can often be caught unprepared for weather as the country does not have the technology to predict or monitor storms like this, it often leaves us guessing what is going to happen day to day. Please continue to pray for the children we work with, as Dengue fever cases are starting to rise in the area they attend school.

Picture: That not me of course, but a man in Manila. Hey i know what thats like though. When all you got is a motorcycle to get around on you do what you can to get home so you're not standed somewhere.