British Jesuit's encounter with Typhoon Nesat

British Jesuit, Father Tim Byron SJ, originally from Southport, Merseyside, is currently on Tertianship - the final formal period of formation in the Society of Jesus - in the Philippines.  He has posted this report of his experience of Typhoon Nesat and how the Jesuits intend to respond to the needs of the Filipinos if necessary.

It is the first time I have had twigs, leaves and branches in the shower with me in the morning, although I know for many others it is a lot worse.  Now the wind seems to have calmed down now in Manila, the rain continues, Typhoon Nesat paid us a close visit today.  Even though it landed 200kms north of us, Manila was still put under storm signal two, with nine more unfortunate areas in the Philippines under signal three.  Nesat's reach is huge - extending 100s of miles.  Here in Manila we have been hit by its flailing arms - almost continuous torrential rain and very strong gusts of winds.  Halfway through this morning's meeting with my fellow Jesuits, one of the largest trees here in the Loyola House of Studies was just uprooted - falling conveniently into the gap between the chapel and our bedrooms (see the video clip on http://sjsa.wordpress.com).  If that's what it can do from over 200kms away, God knows the damage it is causing near the centre.  Apparently, there has already been $2.4billion (approx £1.5billion) damage this Typhoon season.

I'm told that Typhoon season can last from April - November with sometimes up to 20 being recorded, i.e. those that have been upgraded from tropical storms.  Winds over 100km per hour raises a storms status to a typhoon - and above 200km per hour to a super-typhoon.  We were perilously close to that but the windspeed seems to have come down a bit when it hit land this morning.  The developing storm has been tracked since the end of last week - its international name is Nesat, but once it entered the Philippines Area of Responsibility (about 400kms off the coast) it was given the local name Pedring.

Typhoon2000.com is an excellent site for tracking events (link below).  So apart from the drama of the tree fall, and a sleepless night, we are all okay.  However over 100,000 were evacuated from Central Luzon, and as I write this, Pedring is cutting a swathe through some of the most fertile farming areas just before harvest time.  The other concern here in Manila is the rivers - two years ago our local river burst its banks and killed 60 people from the shanties.  People who live there are referred to as squatters - the rubbish that is left in the drainage channels generally exacerbates any flooding - and as always it is the poorest who have the least protection.  I pray that they may be kept safe.

On my blog (link below) I have posted a short clip taken from the roof here at 'Loyola Heights' to give you a flavour of the amount of rain and some of the milder gusts of winds (i.e. when it was safe to film).  Watching the force of the wind, I can see now why Bamboo is a good metaphor for being centred and flexible.  The sight of the huge Bamboo plants swaying gracefully in the wind is mesmerising - whilst the biggest and stiffest tree is just snapped over in an instant.  When the wind settles I am going off to help with the clear up - and I hope there is no greater need down by the river.

The video clip on You Tube shows Marikina River in Manila as it reaches critical level at 18 meters, forcing evacuation.  Please pray for the people most affected.  If needed, Jesuits here will organise blankets and food later for those who need help.


 Tim Byron's Blog/You Tube video clip

 Typhoon2000