This isn't the first typhoon Evelyn Colooguy has seen.
She's dealt with many of them while living in the coastal Samar region of the Philippines, believed to be the hardest hit area by Typhoon Haiyan.
“I know what it's like, You don't sleep through the night,” she said.
Though the region is in the typhoon belt -- an area of the world where typhoons happen most often – with winds gusting upwards of 275 kilometres per hour whipping an area nearly 500 kilometres wide, this storm broke all records.
What worries Colooguy is that there's been no word, no pictures from her native Samar. She’s hoping to get updates on Facebook, but none of her relatives have posted anything yet.
“I just want to see my family alive that's all,” she said. “I don't care about the disaster or materials being destroyed, because once someone is alive and strong they can rebuild their life.”
Weather officials said Typhoon Haiyan had sustained winds of 235 kilometres per hour (147 miles per hour), with gusts of 275 kph (170 mph), when it made landfall. By those measurements, Haiyan would be comparable to a strong Category 4 hurricane in the U.S., and nearly in the top category, a 5.
At least 138 people were confirmed dead in the aftermath of Haiyan by late Saturday. But local officials are now saying the toll could be much higher, with perhaps as many as 10,000 missing after the storm.
The typhoon slammed into six central Philippine islands on Friday, wiping away buildings and levelling seaside homes. Horrified residents spoke of storm surges as high as trees.
Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said Saturday it was too early to know how many people had died in the storm, which was heading toward Vietnam after moving away from the Philippines.
"The rescue operation is ongoing. We expect a very high number of fatalities as well as injured," Roxas said. "All systems, all vestiges of modern living -- communications, power, water -- all are down. Media is down, so there is no way to communicate with the people in a mass sort of way."
President Benigno Aquino III said the casualties "will be substantially more," but gave no figure or estimate. He said the government's priority was to restore power and communications in isolated areas to allow for the delivery of relief and medical assistance to victims.
Jess Agustin, who works for the Montreal branch of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace says even before the storm hit, that area was one of the neediest in the Philippines. Largely agrarian and poor, residents weren't prepared for the typhoon and the storm surge that made it even worse, he said.
“People didn't understand what storm surge means. So we saw in pictures there are a lot of people in their houses along the cities thinking because their houses are built of cement they won't be affected.”
Both Agustin and Colooguy are fundraising for the relief efforts back home. Colooguy said she hopes the remote area isn't forgotten as the country recovers from the storm.
The federal government announced Saturday Canada will provide up to $5 million in support to humanitarian organizations helping those affected by the typhoon in the Philippines and surrounding regions.
Emergency relief activities will include the provision of emergency shelter, food, water, livelihood support and other essential services.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper released a statement about the disaster, saying he and wife Laureen’s “thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this devastating natural disaster.”
“Canada is standing by to offer any possible assistance to the Philippines in responding to this emergency. Our officials in Ottawa and at our mission in Manila continue to closely monitor the situation, and remain in contact with relevant local officials and humanitarian partners,” the statement continues.
Anyone looking for information on Canadian citizens believed to be in the affected areas should contact the Emergency Watch and Response Centre by calling 1-800-387-3124 or sending an email to sos@international.gc.ca.
