Reggy Figer saw the news. A rapidly intensifying typhoon was heading towards his family in Tacloban. Concerned and nearly 3,000 km away in Nagoya, Figer sent a text message to his sister, Aileen Rose Figer-Peru, asking her to go to his parents’ home.
The next day, on Nov. 8 last year, Typhoon Haiyan wrought havoc to the Philippines, claiming over 6,000 lives and destroying an estimated 50,000 homes in Tacloban alone. It is said to have been one of the most powerful and destructive typhoons on record.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
KEYWORDS
Philippines,
Nagoya,
Education,
Tohoku,
universities,
expats,
Ibaraki,
3.11,
typhoons,
Typhoon Haiyan,
Tsukuba,
Filipino Community
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.