A Broadstairs man who went missing in the Philippines after Typhoon Tisoy hit the east coast has finally made contact with his frantic mum.
Sara Ransom, 46, had put out please via social media for any news of son Harry Jackson after her last call to him cut out and there had been no further contact for well over 24 hours.
The 22-year-old went to the Philippines in October to help his friend Chris Martin to start a new life and set up a small farming business.
Harry is due home in July 2020 and has been living in Daet, Camarines Norte province on the east coast.
Hilderstone teacher Sara said: “Typhoon Tisoy hit the area quite badly and all lines of communication are down.Our last contact was via a Whats App video call at 11.10pm UK time on Tuesday (December 2) – 7.10am on December 3 Filipino time. Harry said that the house had sustained damage from the typhoon overnight, they lost part of the roof, roofs from the outbuildings and a lot of trees were down.
“He said that the River Date opposite the house (about 15metres away) was about to burst its banks; the roads were impassable and he was going to try to walk to the evacuation centre which is about 2km away. The signal then cut out and there had been nothing since, no messages shown as being delivered.”
No news for 23hrs. #daet #philippines Has anyone seen my son Harry? He’s 22, tall, slim, red hair. He was going to try to walk to an evacuation centre in Daet. Nobody seen/heard from him since. Power & phones out in the area #findharry #PleaseRT #retweet #TyphoonTisoy pic.twitter.com/kfCHjnVrW5
— Sara Ransom (@SaraRansom5) December 3, 2019
The Foreign and Commonwealth office, Kent Police and Interpol were aware and wanted Harry formally reported as a missing person due to the nature of his last contact.
International Red Cross were also aware and BBC Asia was trying to make enquiries but there was no power and no response from emergency teams on the ground.
A Twitter and social media campaign #findharry was retweeted some 3000 times via @SaraRansom5 on Twitter. @bbbsara on Instagram.
Sara, who had been desperately worried had been waiting to hear that Harry and his friends had made it safely through the typhoon to one of the evacuation centres.
Harry contacted his mum around an hour ago to tell her he was safe.
UPDATE!!! Harry is safe. Injured but alive, I’ve just spoken to him. Thank you EVERYBODY for your kind messages, retweets and thoughts. THANK YOU!!!
— Sara Ransom (@SaraRansom5) December 4, 2019
She said: “Harry is safe! I’ve just spoken to him. He’s injured but ok. He didn’t make it to the evacuation centre as it was too dangerous. His house is destroyed and he has lost all his belongings, crops and some livestock. But he’s alive.”
She added: “We’re very relieved.”
Typhoon Tisoy (Kammuri) ripped through the Philippinesyesterday. Some 200,000 residents were evacuated due to fears of flooding, storm surges and landslides.
The storm landed south of the capital Manila. At least four deaths have been reported. Winds exceeding 96mph were reported.