Nine-year-old John from the Philippines

“A log hit me hard and I let go of my sister”

John Chris Gatucod, 9, lost both of his sisters when flash floods triggered by tropical depression Washi hit his home in Iligan City, the Philippines on December 17, 2011.

“My father carried my younger brother up to the roof, while my mother and I carried my sisters. We swam along the flooded streets looking for a place to stay.”

They tried to protect the two girls, but were at the mercy of the incoming current. “A piece (log) from another house was floating on the water and speeding towards my mother and me,” John said. “It eventually hit us.”

Thousands of residents living in the regions of Western and Central Visayas, and Northeastern and Northern Mindanao were dead, injured and missing.

Save the Children distributed food, water, hygiene kits, back to school kits and provided psychosocial support for those affected by the disaster. Our goal is to assist at least 25,000 children and adults through June 2012.