Filipino-American Community Rallies Following Typhoon Back Home
(CBS) -- Hundreds of thousands of people in the Philippines are relieved to be alive after surviving one of the strongest storms in history.
At Transfiguration Church, with a large Filipino congregation, they'll work to help those hit by the storm.
"That's the Filipino tradition, we come together even if we don't know you. When it comes to something like that happening, they all come together," Salvador Bagadiong says.
Filipino-American Community Worries About Typhoon Victims
His sister was in the path of the storm. He's yet to connect with her. His wife Gloria says the community will give all they can.
"It's money and supplies, especially clothes, especially for the kids and some food," Gloria Bagadiong says.
When a natural disaster strikes the Philippines, the community in Chicago comes together, either at a church or, of course, a restaurant.
At Isla Filipina on Lawrence Avenue, Michael Orosa says they'll eventually be in touch with family through social media.
"The Philippines is very well connected, so a lot of our family is on Facebook and Twitter," he says.
He's seen relief efforts like this before, for a country that's no stranger to natural disasters.
"The Filipino-American community is very well put together in the Chicagoland area, and they're very much about supporting our family and friends back home," Orosa says.
"Everybody helps, no matter rich or poor, here in Chicago, always they will help," Gloria Bagadiong says.
Meanwhile, Alex and Amy Enverga said they have heard nothing about her brother, who was directly in the storm's path.
"This is really something we are worried about," Amy Enverga said. "Looking at all the pictures and TV and the Internet, it must be bad."
As they spoke, they watched Filipino cable coverage of the storm on the big-screen TV at the Bacalod Chicken House on Lincoln Avenue. Its co-owner, Christine, hasn't heard from her daughter since shortly after the typhoon swept through. At last report, the daughter was OK, but power was out and her cell phone was dying.
