President Clyde Kilough reported Dec. 1: "Dave Baker telephoned this morning from the Philippines, and I am relieved to report to you that all of the Church members are safe after Typhoon Durian passed through.

"Durian, the fourth typhoon to hit the Philippines in three months, was a category 4 storm that was bearing down on Manila but veered south through the central part of the country. Hundreds are feared dead, many are missing, thousands have been left homeless, and the nation has suffered millions of dollars in damage.

"While we are indeed grateful that all of the members were protected, it is sobering to see the destruction and grief that another disaster has yet again put upon people."

Enduring Milenyo Before Feast

Audrey Ruth Angcos reported in the September/October United News Asia that the strongest typhoon to hit Metro Manila, Philippines, directly in 11 years toppled trees and billboards, triggered flash floods and landslides, shuttered offices and the financial markets and caused a Luzon-wide power outage on Sept. 28, 2006, just over a week before the Feast of Tabernacles.

Typhoon Milenyo (international name: Xangsane) brought Metro Manila to a near-standstill with all flights and sea travel in and out of the region canceled. It also forced officials to suspend operations of two commuter train systems.

With the death toll rising to 200 as of Oct. 3, and with losses estimated to surpass 1 billion pesos—with 1.3 million people displaced including 171,000 evacuees and about 43 million kept in the dark by widespread power blackouts for days—Milenyo seems headed into the record books as one of the most destructive typhoons to hit the Philippines.

It was nine days before the start of the Feast of Tabernacles when this killer-typhoon ripped Metro Manila. Some of the properties of the brethren in the Manila congregation were reported to be damaged by the typhoon, but it was a great blessing that no serious casualties occurred. UN