A Filipina nanny in Dubai has told of her relief that family members were unharmed after the devastating super typhoon Goni tore through their home in the Philippines.
Edna Palmero, 49, said her brother, his wife, their daughter and sister’s son who was staying with them were moved to an evacuation shelter after the deadliest storm in the country since 2013 left a trail of destruction in its wake.
Winds reaching speeds of up to 225kph and torrential rain destroyed their home in the Marinduque province.
The powerful storm, known as Rolly in the Philippines, prompted authorities to evacuate nearly one million people.
As of Sunday, local media in the Philippines were reporting that four people had been killed by the typhoon so far. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan killed at least 6,000 people.
“I’m extremely sad about all of it,” said Ms Palmero, who has worked as a nanny in Dubai for 14 years.
“I can’t even visit right away because of the pandemic and that’s a whole other problem.
“I’m relieved my mother and daughter weren’t there at the time the typhoon hit, but we’ll have to pay for the renovations for our home and it’ll cost a lot.”
Speaking to The National, Ms Palmero said her mother, 77, and her daughter, 7, were in Manila when the typhoon struck.
“We were lucky,” she said. “I’m very happy they are safe.”
“This will be the second time we will have to renovate this house. It was damaged before in the typhoon Yolanda in 2013.”
The UAE has a large population of overseas Filipinos, with 2018 figures showing more than 500,000 were based here.
Commercial flights to the Philippines were suspended for 24 hours on Sunday because of the typhoon.
Ms Palmero is trying to stay in contact with her family as much as possible, however, there have been major power outages because of the typhoon, causing delays in communication.
Flights could remain suspended as the typhoon makes it way to the Philippines’ capital city of Manila, home to 1.78 million people.
Videos and photos of the destruction caused by the super typhoon were being shared widely on social media, especially on TikTok.
Richelle Tabon, a Filipina waitress in Dubai, said she feared her parents will have to flee Manila if Goni makes landfall there.
“They will have to move to an evacuation shelter because our house isn’t built from strong materials,” she said.
“Sadly, our country is not new to typhoons and it causes a lot of chaos. We are praying that we all stay safe.”
Paul Cortes, consul general of the Philippines for Dubai and the Northern Emirates, said Filipinos in the Emirates were praying for those caught up in the savage storms back home.
“The Filipino Community in Dubai and the Northern Emirates are thankful that typhoon Rolly weakened as it slammed into Luzon and its trajectory may also miss the capital," he said.
"The community, however, continues to pray for its countrymen from parts of Luzon that bore the brunt of the brute force of the typhoon.
"We continue to monitor the situation from here in the UAE and are even more fervent in our prayers that our people and our livelihood are safe and far from further damage.”
