Mother and infant buried alive, OBI medical teams evacuate to safety
OBI staff and Lilian arrive to Santo Domingo where she is transported by ambulance to a local hospital.
OBI President Bill Horan talks with Lilian's sister who holds Lilian's 9-month-old son.
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By Sarah Pate
BUHATAN, Philippines - For six grueling hours, Lilian remain buried alive with her 9-month-old son.
A volcanic mudslide triggered by Typhoon Durian's high winds and heavy rains crushed and buried Lilian’s home, killing her 3-year-old and five other family members.
Trapped in the mud and debris and waiting to die, Lilian embraced her infant son.
"I breastfed him while we were buried," she said. "I did not want him to die with an empty stomach."
Fortunately, Lilian and her son were spared suffocation and dug out by neighbors, but it would be another eight days before OBI’s relief teams could reach her isolated village of Buhatan by boat.
On Friday, Dec. 8, Operation Blessing relief teams arrived at their tiny fishing village and immediately set up an emergency medical clinic to treat the sick and wounded.
In addition to medical relief, food packs containing items such as noodles, rice, canned sardines and meat, sugar and hygiene items were distributed to approximately 300 families.
When OBI’s Doctor John discovered Lilian, she was dehydrated and in pain, languishing on a mattress on the floor inside her mother’s sweltering house.
The doctor suspected internal injuries and immediately evacuated her by boat to the town of Santo Domingo where an ambulance was waiting at the dock to rush her to the nearest hospital in the city of Legazpi.
Lahar mudslides buried this large dump truck under several feet of volcanic ash.
"Most of the areas affected are still isolated and communications are down," said Dr. Kim Pascual, chief operating officer for Operation Blessing Philippines.
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Lilian is one of nearly half a million victims affected by this super typhoon – a storm with strength equal to a category 4 or 5 hurricane. Durian, the fourth major typhoon to hit the Philippines in as many months, killed over 1,200 and caused flash floods that triggered lahars, or mudslides of volcanic ash, to inundate and bury several villages.
"These lahar mudslides are really thick, volcanic ash that blankets the steep slopes of the Mount Mayon volcano," said OBI President Bill Horan, who was with relief teams at Buhatan village.
"The typhoon's torrential rains loosened and unleashed these layers of ash, and the lahars fanned out . . . killing, smashing and smothering everything in their path," he added.
In addition to reaching the hard-hit Albay province with more than 5,000 food packs, OBI relief teams are bringing food and medical relief to Catanduanes province with the help of a Philippine Air Force C-130 cargo plane.
"Whatever is needed...we go in, ask what they need and that's what we provide," said Dr. Kim Pascual, chief operating officer for Operation Blessing Philippines. "There are many storm victims needing medical assistance."
As of Dec. 9, Operation Blessing teams were still the only NGO providing relief to devastated villages in Catanduanes. To date, teams have transported nearly 7,000 family food packs in Catanduanes alone and have purchased several water purifying machines that will treat contaminated water in villages.
In one day, one unit was able to supply 683 gallons of clean drinking water to 185 families.
As part of ongoing recovery efforts, Operation Blessing has agreed to fund ten wells throughout Albay Province, assist families with the rebuilding of homes, and develop a cash-for-work program that will employ an estimated 400-600 men for one month to help with critical clean-up projects.
How You Can Help
Typhoon victims like Lilian and her 9-month-old son are still in desperate need of your help. By making an online donation today, your gift will continue to help bring much-needed food, water, medical supplies and more to those caught in the midst of this disaster.
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