A PHILIPPINES-born Malvern woman is hoping to organise a fund-raising event to help her homeland which was devastated by a tropical storm over the weekend.

Patricia Reader, who came to Malvern in 1991, said that she was not from the part of the country that was struck by Typhoon Haiyan, but she knows people who were.

The typhoon struck the coastal provinces of Leyte and Samar on Friday and then headed west through six central Philippine islands.

Mrs Reader said: “We’ve got friends who live in Tacloban, which was the worst-hit area and I’ve been trying to get in touch with them on Facebook, but I don’t know at the moment how they are. I know someone else in a different area whose roof was blown off by the typhoon.”

The confirmed death toll stands at more than 2,300 but is likely to rise.

The UN says some 11 million people have been affected by the typhoon. Thousands have lost their homes and desperately require food, water and shelter.

Mrs Reader, aged 48, of Charles Way, said: “Storms are not unusual. This is the 24th or 25th to hit the Philippines this year, but it’s much more powerful than usual.”

The international community has swung into action, with top aid charities banding together and raising £13 million in the UK in just 24 hours.

Mrs Reader says she wants to do her bit by organising an event in the town to raise money for the appeal.

Mrs Reader’s husband Ken is a member of Malvern Hills Lions Club, whose members were yesterday (Thursday) collecting money outside the Waitrose supermarket in the town centre.