50,000 Filipinos in Midwest brace for ‘Sandy’

Rescue workers check a home for fuel leaks and other types of damage, Wednesday, October 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy is expected to slam the Midwest, where some 50,000 Filipinos live. AP/JOHN MINCHILLO

MANILA, Philippines—As Filipinos in the United States East Coast have started recovering from the devastation brought by superstorm “Sandy,” around 50,000 Filipinos living in the Midwest are bracing themselves for one of the worst storms to hit the US.

The Philippine embassy in Washington, in a statement, said that the superstorm was continually being monitored as it was expected to bring heavy rains and strong winds that could affect another 50,000 Filipinos.

The statement quoted Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia as saying that the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago remained in touch with the Filipino community leaders in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.

Cuisia said that Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim had also advised the Filipinos living in the Great Lakes region to stay indoors and avoid coastal areas because of threats posed by waves that could go as high as 20 feet.

Lim, in a separate statement, noted that the effects of the storm were already being felt in the area and that all cargo shipping activity in Lake Michigan had stopped. He added that there were already reports of floods in Cleveland, Ohio.

Cuisia said that the embassy in Washington and the Consulate General in New York continued to receive updates of Filipinos affected by the superstorm and that so far, there were still no reports of Filipino casualties. However, many Filipinos were still without electricity and could not be contacted because of downed communication lines, he said.

Consul General De Leon added that the consulate had received reports from Filipino community leaders that the homes of some of the estimated 20,000 Filipinos in the South Jersey and Cherry Hills areas sustained some damage from the storm.

De Leon also called on Filipinos to reach out to one another in the spirit of bayanihan to help them cope in the aftermath of the disaster.

“We would like to call on the innate concern of Filipinos for their kapitbahay or kababayan and help each other in making it through this ordeal,” De Leon was quoted as saying. He said Filipinos could help one another by sharing food, water and other necessities to help alleviate their immediate concerns.

“We should share power sources in our homes if we have electricity so that those in dire need can charge their mobile devices and allow them to communicate with relatives and friends here in the US and in the Philippines,” he was quoted as saying.

He added that a charging station was available at the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue for Filipinos to use from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting Wednesday and until the situation normalizes.

He also urged community members to inform the Consulate General of their concerns so that this could be relayed to authorities for appropriate assistance.