At least 16 members of the Church were killed when a typhoon unleashed flash floods, sending a wall of mud and water through this central Philippine city on Nov. 5. Six members are still missing.

Elder Durrel A. Woolsey of the Seventy and second counselor in the Philippines/Micronesia Area, represented the area presidency as he visited Ormoc shortly after the storm hit. Ormoc is 350 miles southeast of Manila in the central Leyte province."Many members were stunned after losing loved ones," he explained. "This is so tragic, yet the Filipino people are so resilient and strong. They demonstrate great courage and are even now digging out and cleaning up."

The number of victims may rise as many have not been accounted for, Elder Woolsey added. Many people were washed out to sea as 8- to 10-foot walls of water swept through the area with no warning.

In some cases total families were lost with no one to account for the loss. In other instances, bulldozers dug mass graves to bury the dead. Some were buried without being identified.

According to a United Press International report, the death toll from the storm will most likely make it one of the deadliest disasters to strike the Philippines in recent history. More than 5,000 were killed. About 3,000 people were killed in a 1976 earthquake and tidal wave in the southern island of Mindanao. More than 1,600 died in an earthquake that struck the northern part of the country in July 1990.

The Ormoc Philippines District has 888 members, 539 of whom live in Ormoc, the area hardest hit by the storm. Latter-day Saints who died in the storm were members of the Ormoc 1st, 2nd and 3rd and Albuera branches.

"We were greatly saddened to learn that we had lost at least 16 members of the Church in and around Ormoc on the island of Leyte," Elder Woolsey recounted. "The full extent of the destruction and tragedy became real as we delivered foods and medicines and visited with the suffering saints there."

All full-time missionaries serving in the area from the Philippines Tacloban Mission, including one missionary couple, were safe and accounted for. The Church district meetinghouse was not damaged because it is located on higher elevation. Only the grounds were damaged, Elder Woolsey said.

"We are housing quite a few people at the building now," he said. "The meetinghouse has become a haven for many of the saints who have lost their homes."

Missionaries assisted in relief efforts at the district center, distributing emergency food packets to those in need, until they were removed from the area because of the danger of the spread of disease, Elder Woolsey said. "We felt the need to pull them out of the area until we can analyze the situation." There is already a concern over the spread of cholera and typhoid.

Elder Woolsey traveled to Ormoc with Lowell D. Wood, director of temporal affairs in the Philippines/Micronesia Area, and Elder Cloyd Hofheins, a full-time missionary serving in Manila who is also a doctor.

During the visit, Elder Woolsey met with Pres. Leonardo S. Mina of the Philippines Tacloban Mission in Tacloban, 70 miles northeast of Ormoc. He then traveled to Ormoc to meet with the district president, Gerardo N. Milallos, and offer words of encouragement to Church members.

Not only were many victims of the flood left homeless, but they also had no food and many had no other clothing than what they were wearing, he said.

Church leaders entered the area with medical supplies and various foodstuffs to help those in need. They also met with members to give them words of encouragement and tips on preventing disease.

Elder Woolsey tried to bring to members feelings of courage and peace to give them strength. "My intent was to give them comfort, to buoy up the families, especially those who lost loved ones."

In addition to assuring the people that the Lord loves them, he also ex

extended to them the love and concern of the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve.

Elder Hofheins met with Marilyn Pascual, the wife of district president's counselor Danilo M. Pascual, to coordinate medical relief efforts. Sister Pascual is a doctor who helped administer various medications to prevent the spread of disease. She is coordinating medical relief efforts on behalf of the Church.

Pres. Pascual, owner of a grocery store, supplied a large amount of groceries to members who were in need.

Elder Woolsey related the tragic story of the Celso Wenceslao family, a member family of 10 from Ormoc. The parents, four daughters and one son were all killed when the flood hit. Three daughters - ages 13, 14 and 16 - were the only survivors.

Elder Woolsey said he felt a need to visit the three young women who were staying with their grandparents. He met with them and gave each a blessing.

"These three girls about broke my heart," he remarked. "There were many tragic stories that had developed like that. One mother lost three of her children in the flood."

Another was busy cooking a meal for the full-time missionaries when the flood hit. She was unharmed, but her four children and mother were killed.

Brian Kelly, managing editor of International Magazines for the Church, was in the Philippines when the storm hit. He was present when Church officials offered members assistance in rebuilding homes. He marveled at the members' unselfishness. "They asked for only about 800 to 900 pesos, about 35 U.S. dollars, to repair their homes," he said.

Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone, first counselor in the Philippines/Micronesia Area presidency, spoke of the comfort the gospel has brought LDS survivors of the disaster. "I think what Elders Woolsey, Wood and Hofheins did was just a magnificent blessing to the people - to go in there right after a great tragedy and see them administer and take care of temporal as well as spiritual needs."

Elder L. Lionel Kendrick, area president, added: "We were extremely pleased with the way the local priesthood leaders functioned and performed under this crisis, especially the district president and full-time mission president."

Survivors of the storm said they had little warning before it hit. Some said they heard two loud blasts and then a rumbling as the storm unleashed a torrent of mud and water.

According to UPI reports, Tropical Storm Thelma was a relatively weak storm with peak winds of only 47 mph, but officials said heavy rain combined with a high tide to magnify its destructive power.

Initial government estimates put the cost of damage to property, crops and infrastructure at $15 million. Some 7,100 families lost their homes. About 90 percent of Ormoc was destroyed. - Sheridan R. Sheffield