Typhoon Tino: One Week Later
- Roberto Atienza
- 11 hours ago
- 7 min read
UPDATED November 6th, 2025 (read update)
"For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock." (Psalm 27:5, NIV)
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It has been one week since Typhoon Tino came through Cebu. In that time, another super typhoon has struck the northern part of the Philippines. In Cebu, the community continues to recover. We recognize that, by the grace of God, our family and the Children's Shelter of Cebu fared better than most during the recent calamities. It's with that realization, understanding, and thankfulness that we extend whatever grace, support, and relief that we can to others. We are not primarily a disaster relief agency, but we partner with those who are to ensure that we can do our part to be a blessing, helping in meaningful and God glorifying ways.
November 8th, 2025 | CSC Happy Homes / Lawaan 3, Talisay, Cebu
As mentioned in our previous update, 25 families took shelter in the multi-purpose room of CSC Happy Homes (you can read more about Happy Homes here). These families all came from portions of Lawaan 3 (the same barangay as Happy Homes) that are near the Mananga River; families whose homes were completely flooded when Typhoon Tino hit. Thanks to the efforts of Maribel, Pastor Fred, and others, these families were cared for and ministered to.
CSC utilized its Calamity Fund, created through the generosity of donors such as yourselves, to provide these families with their most crucial and pressing needs. This included mats (banig), blankets, food, slippers, and underwear. For these families, only the shell of their home remains; all of their belongings were completely washed away in the flood waters of November 4th. Other groups such as PhaseTwoCebu came together to help this community, including the residents of CSC Happy Homes.
In the photographs below, you can see the relief goods being handed out in the multi-purpose room of CSC Happy Homes, as well as meeting and prayer times being led by Pastor Fred, the husband of CSC's nurse, Arlyn Verdeflor.
Please continue to keep these families in your prayers. As of now, the families were told by DSWD that they could return to their homes and begin the long process of cleaning-up, trying to salvage whatever belongings that they could. Pastor Fred created a Facebook group chat with these families so that we could continue to monitor their recovery and prayerfully seek other ways that we can help.
A Brief Note: RELIEF, REBUILD, RESTORE
The teams that we are a part of to help during calamities operate under the philosophy of relief, rebuild, and restore: that is, first provide immediate relief, then help to rebuild homes and communities, and then finally restore lives. This has proven to be the most sustainable and effective in the long term. Most groups, unfortunately, dive in during the first couple weeks of a disaster to provide immediate relief (food, water), which is a tremendous blessing, but disappear before the most crucial work for sustainable long-term solutions can take place (between the rebuild and restore phases).
With this particular calamity, the relief portion will certainly extend far longer than usual for many of the affected communities. This is because the damage was so great that it is taking the government a long time to clear away debris. We'll write more about this in a future post, hopefully conveying the nuance and multiple layers of considerations that have to be made when proposing sustainable solutions after a calamity such as this. In the meantime, we ask all of you to pray with us for all those affected by the recent earthquakes, by Typhoon Tino, and by Typhoon Uwan.
November 9th, 2025 | Cotcot and Cabadiangan, Liloan, Cebu
We left our home at 4:00am in order to make a 4:45am meet-up/call-time at the warehouse of Big Blue Logistics Corp in Consolacion. Just a few days prior, the roads we traveled were completely submerged. A viral video of a large shipping container floating away in violent flood waters was taken along UN Avenue on November 4th. That was the now dusty and muddy road we were making our way down. Piles of debris sat in mounds every few meters creating obstacles that we navigated in the dark. The headlights struggled to pierce the thick black, but inside the car the conversation was fun and lively (a miracle in-and-of itself at 4 in the morning). With streetlights not functioning or sitting crushed and bent on the side of the road, it was a slow but meaningful drive.
On November 9th we joined a relief mission led by the Rotary Club of Cebu to Cotcot, Liloan. This club has been a tremendous blessing to CSC in the past. Our kids participate in the club's annual Run For Gift of Life which raises funds for children born with congenital heart defects. The members of this club also lent their expertise when it came to the build out of Hope House. In countless other ways they have been a blessing to CSC as well as to our family, and today we were joining them in being a blessing to a community in need.
I don't think I will ever be able to fully capture in words what the experience was like that day. The death toll of Typhoon Tino currently sits at 232 with over 100 still missing. A majority of those deaths came from Liloan where the Cotcot River burst its banks, flooding communities between the river and the sea.
Mud covered everything in sight. Near the Tiltilon Elementary School, large muddy fields stretched into the distance. The locals said there used to be entire communities there; homes upon homes that are now completely gone. After making a quick stop, several children came up to our daughter, Juana, asking her if they could braid her hair. We are well versed in trauma informed care and certainly didn't want the children to relive the traumatic experiences of the week prior, but while braiding her hair several of them excitedly yelled over the others to recount the tale of how they survived; how they had to climb up to the upper levels of the school to escape the rushing water. In a single breathe, they would talk about their homes, accidentally say the number "67," and then burst into laughter.
Everywhere we went there was the smell of mud and soil, but disturbingly also the smell of death. It was particularly apparent in low-lying areas where the mud made it difficult to walk. On the way to where we were going, we passed by cars that were piled up, one on top of the other, carried away and crushed by the moving water. We couldn't help but think that residents who couldn't make it to their roofs suffered the same fate.
This flood didn't strike a community that was illegally built along a riverbank. It didn't target one social class over another. In Liloan, the flood swept through shanties and subdivisions alike. Brand new Nissan Hilux pick-up trucks lay crushed next to kei cars and pedicabs.
Our target community was just beyond the reach of the first rounds of aid that came into Liloan. We brought a medical team to do examinations and prescribe medicines (a registered pharmacist had even come with us). A legal team came with the necessary forms for individuals to reclaim their identification (as well as a guide on how to do that and where to go next). These families lost everything, including all of their important documents pertaining to identification, real estate ... everything. The Interact Club of Cebu, of which our daughter Juana is a part, provided toys for the kids, and our club (Rotary Club of Cebu) provided fresh drinking water, food, underwear (one of the most asked for commodities), some clothing, emergency shelter kits created by ShelterBox International which included specially designed ropes and tarps, cooking stoves, and water filters. Partners such as Dunkin' Donuts were with us, and massive trucks provided by Dakay Construction carried the goods. What delayed us were the roads, the mud, and the low hanging wires, but by the grace of God we were, hopefully, able to ease the suffering of hundreds of families in Liloan.
A Brief Post-Earthquake Update
On the evening of September 30th, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake rocked the island of Cebu. Centered in Bogo, Cebu, it was felt all throughout the island, including at CSC. Since then, leading up to the arrival of Typhoon Tino, the Philippines has been hit by large scale aftershocks and several more large earthquakes on surrounding islands.
Fortunately, all of the structures at CSC showed no signs of damage except for Duterte Home. Cracks formed on the first and second floor, and after an inspection of the basement, multiple cracks were found in one of our storage rooms.
We immediately contacted a structural engineer who used a special x-ray machine to determine that the building is 100% structurally sound. However, the cracks needed to be injected with epoxy and repaired.
Thank you for praying with all of us. We're so thankful that there was no major damage to the homes. Please continue to pray with us we serve the kids. Between the earthquakes and the typhoons, our kids haven't had school (classes have been cancelled in Cebu City) for over two weeks!
UPCOMING: November 15th | Pondol and Nangka, Balamban, Cebu
This weekend, six of our 18-year-old-and-older residents at Hope House, plus our counselor Faith, social worker Jane, Jinkee, Joel, Heather, and I will head to Balamban to provide relief to a community that Faith knows well. This community has unfortunately been passed over by government and NGO relief efforts and reached out for help through Faith. The Barangay Captain has provided a list of needs for their people (clothing, cooking supplies, shelf stable food, water, underwear, etc.) and we will be heading out there to provide relief to 500 families.
It is because of the support of folks like you that we are able to answer this call for help. We can tell you first-hand that your impact is powerful and life-changing, so from the bottom of our hearts, thank you! Please pray with us as we prepare for this relief mission at the end of this week.
THANK YOU!
Last, but not least, I wanted to recognize the wonderful aunties who stayed overnight at CSC on November 3rd. They chose to be at CSC instead of remaining with their families to ensure that when the kids woke up on November 4th, there would be help, comfort, love, and care at the Shelter for all of them. These aunties, along with our house parents and facilities staff, are the front line in fulfilling our God given calling. Thank you all for all that you do!
Learn more about the Children's Shelter of Cebu here.
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