A JERSEYMAN who lost his house in a powerful typhoon that has ripped through the Philippines is raising money to help the community on his home island.
Max Nicolas, who grew up in First Tower, has been living in the country for the past four years. He decided to stay throughout the Covid pandemic but last week saw his home on the southern island of Siargao destroyed, leaving him with nothing but the bag on his back.
‘The village that I stayed in got completely obliterated,’ he said. ‘I am trying to help. These people are like my family.’
Hundreds have been killed by Super Typhoon Rai, known locally as Odette, which has left a trail of destruction in its path.
Now Mr Nicolas, a former Haute Vallée student, has set up a GoFundMe page aiming to raise £10,000 for the people of Siargao, with the funds initially going towards basic necessities, food, water and shelter such as tarpaulins. The 31-year-old has already raised almost £1,000, after setting up the page on Monday.
After that, the money will be used for more permanent infrastructure for islanders and to replace the roofs that were ripped off last week.
Mr Nicolas was further north on a trip at the time the typhoon struck, an area which was not as badly hit as Siargao, something he said made him ‘feel really lucky’, but also meant he wants to help out his less fortunate home island as much as he can.
He said: ‘The most intense part of the storm hit the island first. It ripped straight through. It is crazy.
Assessments are ongoing in Bohol where Super Typhoon Rai (aka Odette) made one of its landfalls in the Philippines. Some 500,000 people have so far been displaced and needs are high. Rai is considered the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year. pic.twitter.com/jrLIbxU2ah
— EU Humanitarian Aid | Asia-Pacific (@ECHO_Asia) December 19, 2021
‘We are just trying to get supplies and find a way back with them.’
‘I have been here for quite a long time, and got close with a lot of people. It is difficult to watch the whole community get destroyed.’
After first visiting the ‘surfing paradise’ four years ago, Mr Nicolas said he ‘fell in love with the place, with the people; it is just a beautiful place’.
Mr Nicolas set up a tour company in Siargao, which has been featured in Condé Nast Traveller and Cosmopolitan, bringing tourists to less visited parts of the island, to take part in traditional crafts and weaving.
Despite doing well for themselves, Covid decimated the global tourism industry, closing his business, and after tourism was just starting to recover, the pandemic reared up again – followed by the devastating typhoon.
He said: ‘I’m close with the communities here, and we’ve already been through a lot together with the pandemic.
A super typhoon in the Philippines killed at least 12 people and forced 300,000 to flee their homes.
Floods trapped “hundreds” of families on roofs. Typhoon Rai is one of the strongest storms in recent years — experts say they are getting more extreme due to the climate crisis. pic.twitter.com/IaFltL0Q7V
— AJ+ (@ajplus) December 17, 2021
‘It’s heartbreaking thinking of them trying to rebuild when everything they have has been wiped out. Most families don’t have bank accounts or much money. Everything they own, including their savings, is gone.’
‘The damage is devastating and the situation is critical.’
Mr Nicolas said any donation, big or small, would go a long way towards helping out.
lDonations can be made via his GoFundMe page at: www.gofundme.com/f/typhoon-odette-relief-funding-for-siargao.
