The typhoon rages unabated after 36 hours. Manila, now harboring about 2.5 times its pre-war population, is entirely dependent on food from the provinces, but bridges, wires and trees are down, the seas are perilous, and roads are flooded or being washed away. Dad says it could take up to fifteen days to sort out the mess. With alcohol fuel providing less than half the mileage of the poorest gasoline, we may be faced with vehicles stranded in Manila without fuel, and fuel in the provinces without vehicles. Batteries, already weak and not getting their running charge, could expire, and replacements are almost impossible to find.

Gas was shut at noon. Fortunately I bought some charcoal cooking fuel some 16 months ago for this sort of emergency. It's also dark enough that we have to use coconut oil lamps to read or write in the daytime.

I slipped out to the local grocery (the owners live upstairs) and the market under the Santa Mesa Bridge. Quite a few people were trying to buy food; there was little on offer at high prices.