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"Four days after Typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines, members of Sacramento's Filipino-American community waited for news from friends and relatives trapped in the disaster zone.\"It's really, really, really bad,\" said Eida Ezurin, president of the Filipino Community of Sacramento and Vicinity.Ezurin met with other community leaders Monday to plan a fundraiser for later this week.\"The only thing we can do right now is get all the community leaders to work with us and send some money,\" Ezurin said. \"The money is the essence right now. That's what we need.\"Sacramento's Filipino-American community revolves largely around a shopping center on Mack Road, anchored by the Seafood City supermarket.Customers stared at satellite news video and Filipino newspapers to learn about the initial damage estimates and said they planned to cut back on spending so they could send savings to the victims.\"Filipinos are really sacrificing so they can do something about sending whatever they can give,\" said Rick Pasalo, of Sacramento.Pasalo predicted the U.S. government will also send assistance.\"All the time, whenever countries need help, American helps every time,\" he said. \"So, I'm very sure America will be helping the Philippines.\"Even amateur radio operators have had difficulty getting information from the disaster zone.Michael Heindl of Carmichael, whose wife is originally from the Philippines, said he has been unable to reach any of his usual contacts.\"It doesn't make you feel good,\" Heindl said. \"You sort of want to know what's going on and see if everybody's OK.\"Heindl's wife, Zeny, said she was on the phone with her brother when the storm hit.\"He was cut off, because there was no electricity and no more communications,\" she said.Zeny Heindl said the timing of the storm was particularly difficult for her family because her sister recently died in southern California, and she has been unable to share the news with many of her relatives in the Philippines.The Capital Region Chapter of the American Red Cross announced it has activated its family tracing services.Families unable to reach relatives in the Philippines can call 916-993-7070."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.kcra.com/article/filipino-community-waits-for-news-mobilizes-to-help/6409024>