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While the number of fatalities from Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in the Philippines is about 2000 so far, some have predicted a worst case scenario of 10,000 possibly killed. The storm, which made land fall late last week was the strongest ever recorded in world history with wind gusts at about 150 miles per hour and sea falls of 20 feet.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced and are without shelter or clean food and water. Tacloban, the capital of the province of Leyte, is the epicenter of devastation. Families have been separated, the airport is being mobbed, and bodies have not yet been disposed of. The provinces hardest hit were already suffering from poverty. The storm’s impact has created an untenable situation.

Meanwhile international governments and agencies have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars aid but it is slow to trickle in. The Philippines climate negotiator Naderev “Yeb” Saño launched a hunger strike on day 1 of a UN international climate meeting in Warsaw, Poland, yesterday. Saño said “What my country is going through as a result of this extreme climate event is madness. The climate crisis is madness.”

GUEST: Alex Montances, Southern California regional coordinator for the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns

Visit www.nafconusa.org for more information.