How adobo, tabo helped Fil-Ams face superstorm

MANILA, Philippines – A Filipina living in New York said instincts that come from being a Filipino helped them prepare for superstorm “Sandy”.

Pam Tanjuatco, a New York resident who works in New Jersey, told ANC’s “Prime Time” on Thursday that from her experience and from the lives of other Filipinos she has spoken to, the Filipino community in the US East Coast faced the disaster with calm.

Tanjuatco attributes the composed anticipation to their experiences back home during disasters.

“We approached this with an instinct, with some sort of calm, and I think it has to do with the fact that we’ve experienced this many times in the past. It’s funny because when word came out that Sandy was going to hit us, our first instinct was to make 'igib' water to make sure that we had water,” she said.

Tanjuatco added that she may have been the only one in her building with a “tabo” (water dipper) and a “balde” (pail).

She also said Filipinos had an advantage in preparing food that would not easily spoil in the event of a power outage: the Filipino dish “adobo”.

“In the supermarket, our instinct was to buy food that would keep. I was thinking, ‘OK, I’ll make adobo just in case we ran out of power or our refrigerators won’t be working, so at least we’ll have food that will keep,’” she said.

“It is this instinct that makes me kind of proud because of how Filipinos behave this way. It’s definitely something we’ve seen before. I’ll liken this maybe to ‘Milenyo’. I didn’t experience ‘Milenyo’ but I saw pictures of the devastation,” she added.

The superstorm hit southern New Jersey on Monday, bringing hurricane-strong winds and heavy rains that Tanjuatco can only describe as “surreal.”

She said during the height of the storm, she attempted to go outside of her New York apartment to check the surroundings.

“It was like a movie…The sky was lit, it was weird. It was a bright sky and then you realize it was because of transformers exploding everywhere. So you hear that, too,” said Tanjuatco.

Tanjuatco believes that aside from her instincts, which she attributed to being a Filipino, it was also the early warnings from the local government that helped her prepare for the storm.

She said the 3 states badly hit by Sandy—New York, New Jersey and Connecticut—had been prepared a week before the storm even hit.

Several states had also declared a state of emergency even before the storm made landfall.

Officials also ordered a mandatory evacuation in low-lying areas, urging residents to flee to higher ground.

Lessons from US response

Edgar Ollet, head of the Philippine National Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) operations center, explained to ANC that there is a big difference between how local governments in the US and the Philippines handle disasters.

“Perception in the US is different. It’s more upscale in terms of how they handle the information. They are science-based and they work together and the way they communicate it to the people periodically, the regularity and the platform,” said Ollet.

He said Filipinos also have the tendency to only “follow the leaders whom they trust.”

“Filipinos are more personal rather than just viewing it from the TV or radio, that is why it is good to strengthen the community-based strategy for Filipinos,” he said.

Ollet also pointed out that the US had implemented protocols days before the storm hit land.

“Protocols are in place and the federal [government] knew what had to be done. The evacuation was 2 to 3 days ahead, so the expectation and the anticipation is there,” he said.

He also cited language barrier and access to information as problems in disaster management in the Philippines.

“Here in the Philippines, the cities in Metro Manila have the edge in terms of accessing the information, but the rural may not have [access],” he said.

Ollet said the government has been working towards sufficiency in funding preemptive measures, rather than taking on a reactionary approach.

But he admits that a lot still has to be done, including working on the comprehensive land use plan and upgrading technology to forecast typhoons.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Sandy's U.S. death toll at least 70

U.S. President Obama said Wednesday victims of Hurricane Sandy will "get all the help you need" and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said "we will get up."

The megastorm killed at least 70 people in the United States, including 24 in New York City alone, The New York Times reported, after leaving a like number dead in the Caribbean. Property damage could be as high as $20 billion throughout the Northeast, catastrophe-risk modeling firm EQECAT said.

Speaking in Brigantine, N.J., after a tour of damage caused by the massive storm, Obama said: "We are here for you and we will not forget. We will follow up to make sure that you get all the help you need until you rebuild."

Christie thanked Obama for his "personal concern" for New Jersey and said, "We will get up and we will get this thing rebuilt."

Christie said New Jersey's "challenge now is to get back to normalcy," and he once again expressed gratitude to Obama for the administration's response to the disaster.

"I'm pleased to report that he has sprung into action immediately ... while we were riding in the car together," Christie said of the president.

Obama's tour of the Garden State came as the storm headed toward Canada.

At least 6.2 million customers were without power Wednesday -- down from an estimated 8 million late Tuesday -- and more than 18,000 flights had been canceled since Sandy first started moving along the East Coast, after causing at least 67 deaths in the Caribbean.

Repair crews were reporting progress Wednesday in restoring electrical service to hundreds of thousands in West Virginia, but Kanawha County Manager Jennifer Sayre said in a release it might take until Sunday to get all service restored, The Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette reported.

By Wednesday morning, the number of Appalachian Power customers without service was about 118,000 -- down from almost 126,000 Tuesday night, the power company said.

In the northern part of West Virginia, First Energy said 100,725 of its customers were without electricity Wednesday morning, down from almost 110,000 Tuesday night -- but more service disruptions were reported later Wednesday because of new snow accumulations.

First Energy said power would not be fully restored until next week.

Dominion Virginia Power said Wednesday it has restored service to more than 90 percent of its 205,000 Northern Virginia customers affected by the storm, and -- with a few exceptions -- full restoration is expected by Thursday night.

During a conference call with reporters Wednesday, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the federal response to the disaster is intended to "get resources where they are needed as fast as possible without delays."

"We're asking everyone to be patient as we work with all speed we can to ... restore the necessities of life to areas affected by this storm," she said.

Red Cross Senior Vice President of Disaster Services Charley Shimanski said the organization's needs come down to two main items: blood and money. He said the storm has caused cancellation of large numbers of blood drives, putting a great strain on supplies, and he noted that providing shelter, food and other services in storm-damaged areas is very expensive.

In New York City, the state Metropolitan Transportation Authority restarted limited suburban commuter-rail service Wednesday and will resume limited subway service Thursday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Significant sections of the largest U.S. mass-transit system remained disabled.

Commuter-rail service was available on the Metro-North Commuter Railroad to the northern suburbs in New York and Connecticut and the Long Island Rail Road, between Manhattan and the length of Long Island. Limited subway service was to be restored between Manhattan and Brooklyn, Cuomo said.

Newark Liberty International and Kennedy International airports resumed operations, but many airlines still operated on a limited basis, said the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the New York-area airports. LaGuardia Airport remained closed after suffering damage.

Stewart International Airport, 55 miles north of the city, also was open with limited service, the Port Authority said.

Philadelphia International Airport officials said operations were resuming Wednesday.

Amtrak said Wednesday it will provide modified Northeast Regional service beginning Thursday between Boston and New Haven, Conn., and between Newark, N.J., and points south. Amtrak said it will also operate shuttle service trains between Springfield, Mass., and New Haven, Keystone Service trains between Harrisburg, Pa., and Philadelphia, and Downeaster service trains between Boston and Portland, Maine, along with additional overnight services to and from the Northeast.

The announcement said Amtrak plans to restore modified service into and out of New York City Friday.

But no Northeast Regional service is planned between Newark and New Haven and no Acela Express service will be available for the length of the Northeast Corridor Thursday.

A huge fire burned on Mantoloking Island off the New Jersey shore, where flames could be seen shooting directly out of the sand, WABC-TV, New York, reported.

New Jersey authorities believe a gas main explosion may be the cause of the fire that spread quickly across the island, destroying several homes, the report said.

Firefighters could not reach the blaze due to storm damage on the roads leading to the island.

Neighborhoods in New Jersey were still deluged with water as Obama surveyed damage by helicopter and met with victims of the storm with Christie.

Obama, Christie and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate took an aerial tour aboard the presidential helicopter Marine One of New Jersey areas damaged by the storm and then went to Brigantine, an island northeast of Atlantic City -- where the president told residents gathered at a community center Christie "is working overtime to make sure that as soon as possible everybody can get back to normal."

Christie told the audience it is "really important to have the president of the United States acknowledge all the suffering that's going on here in New Jersey and I appreciate it very much. We're going to work together to make sure we get ourselves through this crisis and get everything back to normal. Thank you for coming, sir."

Christie -- the keynote speaker at this year's Republican National Convention and a harsh critic of the president at times -- is drawing some criticism from conservatives and other fellow Republicans for his effusive praise of Obama's handling of the storm response.

NBC News reported Christie said he would ask Obama to direct the Army Corps of Engineers to look into rebuilding beaches to protect towns, but he said "it won't be the same because some of the iconic things are washed into the ocean."

Much of the famed Boardwalk in Atlantic City was destroyed and the resort city for gambling and conventions was all but submerged.

The U.S. Navy Wednesday sent three helicopter carrier ships -- the USS Wasp, USS Carter Hall and USS Mesa Verde -- to the New Jersey and New York coasts, NBC reported. The ships are to function as landing platforms for military and civilian agency helicopters if needed, officials said.

The National Weather Service's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center said in its 11 a.m. EDT advisory winds, rain and snowfall were diminishing, and gale warnings were in effect for portions of the Great Lakes. Winds were expected to diminish, but coastal flooding along portions of the Great Lakes was possible, forecasters said.

Rather than identifying a location for the center of the storm, forecasters said multiple centers of circulation associated with the storm were across the lower Great Lakes.

Flood watches and warnings were posted across New England and flood warnings were in effect for portions of the northern mid-Atlantic region.

Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories were in effect along the central Appalachians, and the mountains of West Virginia into western Maryland and southwest Pennsylvania were likely to get another 2 to 4 inches of snow. West Virginia has already had 3 feet of snow and at least 2 feet of snow has fallen in parts of Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.

New York City's Bellevue Hospital Center was evacuating 500 patients Wednesday because of problems keeping the building powered.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital said Wednesday it has resumed performing surgical procedures and its emergency departments and dialysis centers are fully operational.

The hospital said it is still receiving patients from other area hospitals.

Obama signed federal emergency declarations for 10 states and the District of Columbia and spoke with 20 governors and mayors on a conference call.

New York financial markets resumed trading Wednesday even though much of the city was without electricity.

At least 80 homes caught fire and burned in a Queens neighborhood.

New York's subway system suffered the most devastating damage from floodwaters in the system's 108-year history, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota said Tuesday. The New York Harbor saltwater that gushed into subway tunnels may have corroded signal and switching systems, he said.

He said service would not be fully restored for at least four or five days.

New York buses began running again Tuesday afternoon and Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered a ride-sharing program for taxis.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut reopened many closed roads and bridges.

New York police executed several daring air rescues, dropping lifelines to rescue at least six people, including a child, the Times reported.

Police said there haven't been any signs of looting or other indications of crimes of opportunity taking place because of the storm, the Times said.

During an evening news conference Tuesday, Bloomberg said more police would be part of overnight shifts in the parts of the city still in darkness.

"This is the calm after the storm," one police officer told the Times.

Dangerous surf conditions were expected from Florida to New England for the next couple of days.

source: upi.com

Filipinos in US hunker down for superstorm

Storm preparations of some Americans may seem a bit exaggerated to some Filipinos who have lived in the Philippines, a country hit by about 20 storms annually.

“Ang biruan ng mga Pinoy dito napaka-OA ng mga Amerikano. Lagi namin joke yun kasi we overprepare in a good way,” said Alladin Bacolodan, a former ABS-CBN reporter who is now a Maryland resident.

Bacolodan said Filipinos are used to typhoons. “You’ve seen the worst when you have lived in the Philippines,” he said.

However, he also admitted that megastorm Sandy is different.

“The truth is - this is really a reason to prepare because this is really unusual,” he said.

The National Hurricane Center downgraded Sandy to a post-tropical cyclone as it crashed into the US coast near Atlantic City, New Jersey. The megastorm has so far claimed the lives of 13 people in US and Canada.

Strong winds and heavy rains continue to pound most of the East Coat resulting to heavy flooding in a lot of cities and towns in at least 11 states and the District of Columbia.

Power outage is the biggest concern now with more than two million people without electricity.

The national and local government implemented stringent measures, including mandatory evacuations, imposing curfew and travel ban, to encourage people in the path of the storm to remain indoors for their own safety.

“Right now, there is a ban for you to go outside. You’re not even allowed to drive a car. You can be arrested for doing that,” Bacolodan said.

“Like today in Maryland, they’ve announced you cannot go out unless you’re a medical officer, a part of the rescue team, or working in a hospital or some medical facility.”

That, he said, gives them no other choice but to remain indoors.

“That differentiates us from there. Kasi dyan, may katigasan tayo ng ulo. Dito, kailangan talagang sumunod dahil mahuhuli ka,” he said.

60 million affected

The storm, he added, is really huge affecting about 60 million people or about 20 percent of the US population.

Of the 60 million, 460,000 are Filipinos living in at least 13 states in the east coast.

He said the highest concentration of Filipinos in the east coast is in New Jersey with 110,000; New York, 104,000; 66,000 in Virginia and about 44,000 in Maryland.

“The Philippine Embassy in D.C. and the Consulate in New York are closed today. But Ambassador Jose Cuisia issued an advisory to brace for the worst and keep an eye for each other in case someone needs help,” Bacolodan reported.

A duty officer is likewise on standby in both the embassy and the consulate to receive calls from Filipinos needing immediate help.

Filipino community leaders have been notified to keep in touch with members for any development or emergencies.

Like most residents, Filipinos there have done their part in preparing for the worst by stocking on supplies like food, water, and emergency kits.

Well prepared

In New York, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau correspondent Don Tagala said most Filipinos he knows have prepared well before the storm.

“A lot of people I know went out Sunday before the hurricane came in. They went to Filipino stores to buy canned goods, emergency supplies,” Tagala said.

In Manhattan, freelance correspondent Cat Sandoval is among the many Filipinos bracing for superstorm Sandy.

Sandoval reported to ANC that many parts of the city are already flooded, without power. She added that most residents are well prepared because of early warnings from authorities.

“I think what's really good, the mayor did a really good job of warning people, the government did as well, so people are pretty safe,” Sandoval said.

Another New York resident Bernadette Corpuz-Perez is waiting it out in her apartment.

“We’re doing ok. We were warned by Mayor Bloomberg so we stocked up on food and water. Everything is fine on our side,” she said.

Perez said Manhattan is one of the areas without power.

“Our service elevator is not working so it’s really 19 flights of stairs going down. We’ve been here since Sunday. We were warned to stay home because it’s safer. We were able to go outside this morning just to get supplies but since then we’ve been stuck here in the apartment,” she said.

It was a good thing, she said, that they were informed early on to prepare as water was also turned off.

“We're hoping it will be over soon. We don’t have TV that can guide us on what's happening outside, but so far for Manhattan, I think the worse is over,” she said.

Perez has been in New York for more than 10 years and had seen the worst kind of tragedy in the 9/11 attacks.

“Were not used to this kind of calamity in New York, but were very prepared,” said Perez.

“What's great about New York is that were always getting feedback from our politicians. So we’re warned. I’ve been here long enough to know that people are actually out there--we have policemen and firefighters ready to help,” she said.

source: abs-cbnnews.com