Saturday, September 26 started as a rainy day, which is pretty normal for this time of year in the Philippines. But by midday, it was clear that this was far from a normal rainstorm. This was a brewing flood of historical proportions. Before the end of the day, much of the city of Manila would be seriously flooded with lives lost and extensive property damage. No one was spared. Mother Nature’s fury touched us all alike – old and young, rich and poor, tall and short. The phone calls, texts and e-mails I received were heartbreaking. Everyone I knew suffered in some way. News reports showed the widespread devastation across all areas of Manila with millions of people affected.

U.S. Embassy buildings suffered extensive flood damage. Our scenic location on Manila Bay posed real problems as the torrential rainfall matched up with high tide. Our Embassy crews were tireless in pumping water, cleaning up and testing systems. Despite the massive flooding, we were forced to close to the public for only one day. A heroic effort by our teams to be able to re-open our services to the public so very quickly. Many of our Embassy staff, American and Filipino, helped out with the clean-up efforts despite having lost their homes in the floods.

We also wanted to be able to help out the Philippines with rescue and relief efforts. After talking to senior Filipino officials, we organized a rescue mission by bringing a U.S. helicopter and U.S. military zodiac boats from their temporary deployment in the Southern Philippines to Manila to support the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The U.S. Navy had the boats in the water within an hour of landing and set out to help rescue people and drop off relief supplies to those who chose to stay at their homes. Working through the night, they rescued dozens of people, including a pregnant woman who they safely delivered to the hospital three hours before she gave birth. We also immediately released USD 100,000 from USAID funds for relief supplies to the Philippine National Red Cross so that they could begin providing relief supplies, such as mosquito nets and hygiene kits, to those in evacuation centers.

U.S. Navy SEAL Teams and medical personnel assisted the Armed Forces of the Philippines with rescue efforts in Cainta, Metro Manila. U.S. Navy SEAL Teams and medical personnel assigned to Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines rescue a pregnant woman.

We were far from alone in wanting to help out. Across the Philippines, ordinary citizens ignored their own losses to donate and deliver relief supplies. Americans were also generous, reaching out across the miles to give to relief groups. We are now busy organizing for the next phase of relief and recovery efforts. Together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, we will turn a long-planned exercise between the U.S. and Filipino Marines into a recovery effort. The U.S. Marines are working on a plan to bring in equipment, such as trucks and bulldozers, that can help clear debris. We will also bring in U.S. military medical teams to work with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to provide free medical services and supplies to families in evacuation centers. We will continue to look for ways to offer assistance to our Filipino friends as they rebuild and recover from this tragedy.