Amid the devastation that Typhoon Haiyan has heaped on the Philippines, there was a brief moment of elation after a woman gave birth Monday to a baby girl in Tacloban, a city in Leyte province that was crippled by the storm.
Cheers broke out as Emily Ortega, 21, delivered a healthy daughter named Bea Joy Sagales, according to The Associated Press. The birth gave residents and military medics who assisted in the airport delivery a much needed smile in a city where officials estimate thousands are dead.
Ortega was in an evacuation center Friday when Typhoon Haiyan roared ashore with sustained winds close to 200 mph, making it the most powerful storm in recorded history. The mother, according to the AP, had to swim and cling to a post to survive before she found safety at the airport and eventually gave birth in the control tower. Her husband in Manila was unaware of what has happened.
Bea Joy Sagales was named after Ortega's mother, who went missing in the storm Friday, the baby's aunt said.
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