Members of Vancouver’s Filipino-Canadian community gathered at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church today to pray for the best and prepare for the worst.
“We pray, but everytime there is a problem, we always gather funds and help our country,” says Pastor Levi Estores.
“We’re deprived of sleep because we’re trying to monitor our friends and family.”
READ MORE: Powerful typhoon slams into Philippines, 650,000 flee
Typhoon Hagupit slammed into the central Philippines’ east coast late Saturday, with winds of 175 kilometres per hour causing significant damage to many coastal towns.
There have been no immediate reports of causalities and winds have weakened somewhat overnight.
Ronald Carcellar, one of many people attending the Vancouver service with family in the affected area, say the situation is unfortunately common in his home country.
WATCH: Just a year after a devastating typhoon killed thousands and displaced millions, Filipinos are once again bracing for the worst. Vassy Kapelos reports.
“When I was young, we always had a strong typhoon every year. I remember all the roofs of our neighbors flying off, and our parents telling us to go downstairs.”
According to the 2011 Census, over 68,000 people in Metro Vancouver list Tagalog as their mother tongue, three per cent of the region’s population.
The Canadian government said today they’re trying to determine how best to help the Philippines, with a ground team already preparing to go.
Finance Minister Joe Oliver said Canada is ready and willing to help the Philippines deal with the latest storm, but he couldn’t put a dollar figure on any aid because the extent of the damage isn’t known.
During Typhoon Haiyan last year, Ottawa matched public donations to relief efforts, an amount totaling about $90 million.
– With files from Jill Bennett and The Associated Press
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