A FORMER Stroud resident has told of the scary experience of the recent super typhoon in the Philippines.

The typhoon - which occurred in December - was believed to be the third worst to have ever hit the country due to the amount of damage it caused.

Simon and Angie Briggs, who met in Stroud, have told the SNJ about their scary experience of the super typhoon.

“It was petrifying,” said Angie Briggs.

“We were warned a typhoon was coming, but no one was prepared for the super typhoon, a category five hurricane that flattened our town.

“Trees were torn from their roots, many falling onto roofs, houses blown away or completely decimated.

“It is a miracle that people were not injured or killed as sheets of tin roof flew through the air at gusts of 315km/h.

“The eye of the typhoon came directly over our town of Moalboal, famous as a tourist destination for its sardine run, where millions of sardines can be snorkelled or dived off the beach.

"Thankfully they are still there!

Ms Briggs described this experience as six hours of hell.

“We own a small Eco Lodge made of bamboo and nipa grass roofs which cannot withstand winds of 300+ km, so to watch our life savings, and our dream crumble would have broken us.

“However, we were lucky, we live in a light-strong brick house, and only lost part of our guttering.

“What the locals went through in their small make-shift house is unimaginable.

“The fear they must have felt, feeling the full force of mother nature surrounding them in such a deafening way is something I hope I never comprehend.

It has been nearly four weeks since the event and the married couple are now raising money to deal with its aftermath.  

There is still no electricity in their house or neighbouring villages – this means no running water and no sanitation.

The couple are aiming to help the village behind their house.

They have already identified 13 homes who need desperate help.

“The pound goes far here, and for £50 you can put a roof over an entire house to keep adults and children dry,” Ms Briggs added.

"Pregnant women, old men, babies and children, no one is spared the discomfort of sleeping wherever they can that is dry.

“Every single penny we raise will be personally spent on materials, and hand delivered by us.”

Their PayPal is linked to our Philippine bank account: feetdotravel@gmail.com