typhoon in Philippines

however it has been a topic almost every morning at my shop.

At least the numbers of dead from the storm are now estimated much lower, though still too many.

The difficulty of getting supplies distributed even after they arrive is extreme. The USS George Washington and it's group arrived Wednesday or Thursday and will help with their helicopters and Ospreys to spread aid and to survey what is needed.

Another huge value of that ship group arriving is their water purification abilities of millions of litres a day. Found a couple of reports that mention that, but real numbers. Still, it's a lot, and good water is one of the most badly needed supplies for consumption and medical care after such a disaster.

Incredibly, the Middle Kingdom has been unbelievably penurious:

In one of the more embarrassing showings of goodwill in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan, China initially pledged $100,000 of foreign aid to the Philippines, far less than even some private donors. After being shamed, the country with the world's second biggest economy increased their donation to an unimpressive (for global superpower) $1.6 million. Now there are whispers back home that Filipinos aren't being appreciative enough...

...China's paltry initial offering was the foreign aid equivalent of Mitt Romney leaving a penny in the tip jar, which is why they were goaded into upping their donation to $1.6 million. But when you look at what other big economies have given — the U.S.'s $20 million, Australia's $30 million, the U.K's $16 million and Japan's $10 million — that number is still pretty embarrassing. Even the Swedish furniture company IKEA has pitched in more, promising $2.7 million to the country. Coca-Cola promised $2.5 million too.

China's meager donation is more surprising when you think of the larger relationship between the two nations. Throughout history, Chinese natives have immigrated to the Philippines and many made good lives for themselves — according to Forbes, the two richest people in the Philippines are tycoons of Chinese descent. The country celebrates Chinese New Year and Filipino culture has many traces of Chinese influence. Currently, however, they are in a territorial spat over the waters in the South China Sea, near the Philippines, that China claims to own.

Maybe the fact that the Philippines is challenging China's claims to a wide swath of ocean in the South China Sea has something to do with Beijing's stinginess. Certainly, it has nothing to do with the fact that the disputed area is believed to be rich in oil and gas - just as Chinese agreements with Cuba, Brazil and other nations to bankroll oil and gas exploration for a hefty cut of the action are purely altruistic acts.

They could have given them a couple of Obama's chits.

change as their fortunes improve?

"China uses history to support its claims to the South China Sea and all its land features. These date back to its own imperial days centuries ago, when China treated its neighbors as mere vassals. However, the nine-dash line itself was first published on a map in 1947 by the Chinese Kuomintang government, and the Communists inherited it after the civil war that brought the Communists, led by Chairman Mao, to power."

Rob

and medical help, followed by clean clothing, some sort of temporary housing, all needed there. One thing I've been looking for in the stories is any indications of a large SHTF type scenario all these doomsday preppers always imagine for the end times. While some looting toward survival such as food stores did go on, that's understandable. Violence however doesn't seem to be a factor, but maybe it's because everyone there is still sort of "shell-shocked" by it all, just like those surviving "carpet bombing" during world war 2. Part of that may be due to their Christian principals, most I think are Catholic or some other Christian group.

I did the november setting just for rainfall in the past 20 years and it was 257mm or 10 inches. A clean surface could collect some good water for drinking and a gallon of clorox could be sure of it for 4000 gallons approximately. In Crete I used to put a cup of clorox into our roof tank about twice a week. Rather than leave it on continuous feed with the float, I cut it off and then would fill back up when it got low and treat it. We brought drinking water from the air station in a 5 and 10 gallon bottles. That big bottle was heavy to load onto my pickup, not sure I could do it alone now. My main reason for treating the house water tank was to kill mosquito larvae that sometimes were in it, inspite of me trying to keep the cap on the top of it.

regard to the mosquito larvae. I now notice they're importing Antarctic krill as a source of ?Omega 3? oils, krill are sort of the small insects of the sea. Me, I'd leave them for the whales. Whales have to eat too and we have other sources of Omega 3's and all the other things we need in our diets.

Rob

we did use it some for cooking since it was slightly brackish due to seawater intrusion into the groundwater. It made terrible tasting tea which is what started us bringing in water from base which was piped from a mountain valley area that was a natural acquifer, collecting the rain and snow melt. That was good water and the local supplied to the house continued to degrade in quality where eventually we just used it for showering and garden.

with what looked like brand new clear plastic film and wondered where she got it, something she had before, or secured after the hurricane. It was in those pictures.

considering the pictures of destruction.

Muslim 5%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%, Aglipayan 2%, other Christian 4.5% (all Christian identifying, therefore the Philippines are 92.5% Christian), other 1.8%, unspecified 0.6%, none 0.1% (2000 census)

The Muslims have been fighting an insurgency for years, even pre-dating Al Qaeda.

Rob

Some people have been without food for days. One can last a few weeks if all they have is water and in decent health otherwise. Many of these people are injured or diabetic or other health problems. They are evacuating those with medical problems, but maybe not fast enough, yet. Rotting bodies surely don't contribute to the situation there. That's got to be horrible to stand by one's collapsed home and realize the smell coming from it is a rotting family member that didn't survive the storm.

Rule of 3's

Three minutes without oxygen

Three days without water

Three weeks without food.