Evening star., 1947-12-28
Philippines Offered
Aid by Macarthur as
Typhoon Toll Rises
BY the Associotsd Press

bf me ASSOtioIec FFesS
MANILA, Sunday, Dec. 28.-Gen
Macarthur today offered ANY aid
needed" to the Philippines in re-
covering from a disastrous typhoon
which left 81 persons dead or miss
ing.
The Manila Press called the
Christmas Day storm "the greatest
calamity to the Philippines since
the war" and "the worst typhoon
in AZ years" in this country where
typhoons are seasonal occurrences
Gen. Macarthur messaged Presi-
dent Manuel A. RoXas that he was
shocked and distressed" by the
typnoon reports.
The major casualty figure was
the 81 persons still listed as missing
from the sunken Danish liner Kina,
but the full extent of the disaster
still was hidden by ruptured COM
munications between this hard-hit
capital and the ravaged central
Philippines.
City almost Destroyed"
The most destruction appeared to
cover strip on Luzon approximate
ly $50 miles long from Legaspi.
southeast of Manila, to Iba on the
west coast northwest of the capital
The mayor of Legaspi, a city OF
LOO, said the city was almost
totally destroyed" by the winds,
which hit top velocity Of ITO miles
an hour there and 120 miles else
where.
Two persons were killed by fall
ing wall at Lucena, the archipela-
go's coconut capital of 81 900 popula-
ton southeast of Manila, where
hundreds of homes were wrecked.
Reports from there said it would
take at least a year for coconut
plantations to recover.
Rescue Plane Leaves.
The two deaths there increased
the total of dead or missing to ST..
In addition to the 80 missing from
the Danish ship Kina, II were dead
or missing in Laguna Province, just
north of Lucena; five were dead in
Manila and one in Cavite, south
west of Manila.
A big United States Navy am
phibian plane left Cavite for Samar
Island in the Central Philippines
to pick up 20 passengers and crew
rescued from the Kina. The plane
carried doctors and medical corps
men.
At least one creWman was known
to be badly injured. Some of the
survivors were taken aboard the
Norwegian motor vessel Samuel
Bake, which messaged that others
were at Calbayog on the west coast
of Samar, near where the Klna
broke UP on rocks.
The survivors made it to shore by
taking to lifeboats and rafts before
dawn Friday.
Captain Among Missing.
Capt. Aage Hjernum, 80 of his
crew and one passenger were still
missing. Some may have reached
safety, but several days will be re-
quired to check seaside villages
afoot.
Among those saved were three
American women employees OF the
War Department in Japan, who had
booked passage for Europe in
Shanghai. They were the Misses Ada
Espenshade of Chicago, Anne Malek
and Louise S. Rosso.
The missing passenger was one
of the family of Gerald F. Matti,
Swiss. Mr.. Matti, his wife and
two other children were listed as
safe.
Mr.. Matti, who was en- route from
Hong Kong to Genoa, was manager
of the Grand Hotel des Wagon Lifts
in Peiping for number of years
before the war, and later managed
the Palace Hotel in Shanghai. He
was known to hundreds of American
travellers.
Chief Officer F. L. w. Dalberg,
one of five survivors picked up by
the Norwegian motor vessel Samuel
Bake, radioed the Danish East
Asiatic company Offices in Manila
that all survivors were in fairly
good" condition.
The Kina, a total loss, was esti-
mated by the agents to have been
worth $2,000,000.