Filipinos in the New York-New Jersey area have joined their kababayans around the globe and the international community of nations in opening their hearts and wallets for the victims and survivors of the Feb. 17 massive mudslide that virtually wiped out the entire Barangay Guinsaugon in the town of Saint Bernard in Southern Leyte, Philippines.

More than 1,500 are feared dead as rescue and recovery workers continue to dig this week in search of survivors. The disaster — which was heavily covered in all American TV and radio networks for several days now — was blamed on 10 days of heavy rain and severe deforestation of the region’s valuable mahogany trees.

Help started arriving at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. and the Philippine Consulate in New York City shortly after the two diplomatic posts formally appealed for help in their respective websites.

Philippine diplomatic officials asked for donations in cash, check or money order which will be immediately remitted home.

“The survivors and their families urgently need food, medicine and body bags and we appeal for monetary donations so we can send the money home right away,” Consul General Cecilia Rebong told the Filipino Reporter.

Checks should be made payable to the Philippine Embassy and can be sent to The Philippine Embassy (Attention: Ms. Cynthia Tayam), 1600 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 (telephone: 202-467-9381 or 202-467-9403) or to The Philippine Consulate General, 556 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036 (telephone: 212-764-4779 or 212-764-1330 extension 336).

Fil-Am organizations such as the Philippine-New York Junior Chamber (Jaycees) have began collecting check donations (payable to Philippine Embassy), which will be turned over to the Philippine Consulate in New York.

The names of donors, the amounts donated and the dates they were received will be posted in the Philippine Embassy website (www.philippineembassy-usa.org) and a regular progress report on this fund will be issued at the Embassy’s Press and Information Section, Rebong said.

All donations will be transmitted to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) in the Philippines which is the government’s inter-agency body responsible for coordinating disaster rescue, relief and rehabilitation.

“I wish to appeal to all Filipinos, friends of the Philippines and concerned groups and individuals to extend their helping hand to the victims of this tragedy,” says Ambassador Albert del Rosario. “The Philippine Embassy profoundly thanks all those who will respond to this appeal in the spirit of love and compassion for our fellow Filipinos.”

International experts are meeting this week to decide whether to continue the search for survivors, said Maj. Gen. Bonifacio Ramos, head of the Philippine rescue effort.

Doubts grew Wednesday that more survivors would be found as rescuers reported having found only dead bodies for the past five days since the tragedy struck at 10 a.m. of Feb. 17.

At least 14 bodies were found on Wednesday, bringing to 110 the official death toll.

Battling soft, unstable mud and intermittent heavy rains, hundreds of Filipino and foreign rescuers dug for the sixth straight day but only dead bodies — sometimes even mutilated body parts — were turning up.

Southern Leyte Gov. Rosette Lerias refused to abandon hope, however.

“The fact that they (rescue teams) want to continue digging is a sign of life,” she said late Tuesday. “They told us they will continue digging...there is no question of giving up.”

“I told them my guidance will be, if you tell me it’s a go, it’s a go,” she said. “It is only when you tell that you’ll stop already that I will also stop. But for as long as you believe we have a chance, we will support you.”

The hopes of anguished relatives were raised briefly when rescuers Monday reported hearing noises through electronic listening probes, although they were unsure if the sounds were human. Nothing was heard Tuesday.

The effectiveness of the U.S. Marines in search operations was brought to the fore on Monday when they detected the first sign of life after days of digging — a rooster that came cackling from a shattered part of a house partly buried in mud. It was recovered from a vacuum between part of a roof and solid rock.

Hundreds of rescuers from at least five countries are working to locate and dig down to a buried village school and community hall, the focus of the operation.

Some 200 children and 50 teachers and staff are feared buried with the school.

Some 1,600 Marines and 16 helicopters are engaged in search and recovery operations, with 334 Marines on the ground helping find victims.

U.S. Marines brought in two truckloads of gravel to try to lay down a road across the morass of mud that covers the village of some 300 houses. The aim is to bring in heavy equipment to speed up work with picks and shovels.

U.S. Marines brought in a two-ton drill Tuesday in a last-ditch effort to locate the buried elementary school. The drill is capable of digging 60 meters (180 feet) deep to clear rocks and debris, and the school is believed to have been buried under up to 35 feet of mud and rock.

Officials initially resisted using heavy equipment at the site, fearing the vibrations might cause the unstable mud to shift and suffocate anyone still alive under the muck.

But with five days gone by since the last survivor was rescued, shovels have proved inadequate, with the holes being dug often collapsing. A backhoe and other heavy earth-moving machinery have been plying the 40-hectare mud field for two days in a row.

Search efforts, however, have been further hampered because any identifiable landmarks have been obliterated and frequent rain changes the terrain.

Meanwhile, aid continues to pour in.

The Washington-based Philippine American Foundation announced it will grant $20,000 towards building new homes for survivors.

Jollibee Foundation and Gawad Kalinga, a civic organization, have committed to build 100 homes.

Bahrain sent $500,000 to help in the resettlement effort.

The Roman Catholic Church sent an initial 150 sacks of rice.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also released emergency funds to address the needs of the survivors.

USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) authorized the U.S. Embassy in Manila to disburse some $50,000 in disaster assistance.

The United Nations and other countries also sent financial aid and supplies.

Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz said that aside from rescuers sent by the U.S., Malaysian, Spanish and Taiwanese Governments, Japan and Australia have committed construction engineers to help rehabilitate bridges leading to Guinsaugon, saying the reconstruction of the bridges will help speed up the rescue and relief operations in the barangay.

He added that the Australians also promised to give A$1 million for the rehabilitation of Guinsaugon and other affected barangays in Southern Leyte.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth sent her condolences to the landslide victims. “My prayers and thoughts are with everyone who have been affected by this dreadful disaster,” she said in a message.

Heir to the British throne Prince Charles also conveyed his sympathy and concern. “My wife (Camilla Parker-Bowles) and I were horrified to hear of the cataclysmic landslide that caused such terrible devastation in Guinsaugon at the weekend, and our hearts go out to all those who lost their loved ones,” he said.

At least 15 other barangays apart from Guinsaugon were also affected by mudslides brought about by continuous rains in the region.

The government has declared Saint Bernard town a “no-fly zone” because of fears that helicopter downwash could trigger fresh landslides.

Four evacuation centers are serving at least 439 families (around 1,645 persons) while other families are currently staying with friends and relatives.

“I feel really sorry for the people who suffered but especially for the few survivors,” said Sally Jimenez, 44, a personal assistant who lives in Rye, N.Y. “My heart aches when I see people die like that. I pray for the people left behind.”

Jimenez, a member of the King of Kings Christian Fellowship in Valhalla, said she is working with her minister to complete fund-raising efforts for the region. She is visiting her children in San Pablo City, Laguna this March and might personally bring the donation of her ministry.

Joey Opulencia, 64, a retired physician who lives in Spring Valley, said although he’s lived in the United States since 1965, he would always have a connection to the Philippines, a link that becomes increasingly emotional during times of natural disaster.

“Every time I go to bed I think about what is happening over there,” said Opulencia, president of the Philippine American Seniors Association of Rockland. “Someone really has to regulate what’s happening there. They just cannot cut trees.”

The mudslide last Friday was one of at least three on Leyte Island in recent decades. The most notable one, the Ormoc disaster, killed some 5,000 people.

In November 1991, Mindanao-based Australian ecologist Neil Fraser said that for as long as Filipinos regarded the earth and the environment as resources to be exploited and abused, a flood similar to that in Ormoc City could occur anytime.

Twelve years later, his prediction came true, and in a place not far away from Ormoc City.

In December 2004, over 1,000 people died when flash flooding and landslides hit the eastern Quezon province in the northern Philippines after two large tropical storms.

Three coastal towns — Real, Infanta and General Nakar — were the worst affected. Illegal logging was again cited as a major contributing factor to the tragedy.