The city of Tacloban in the Philippines lies in ruins after Typhoon Haiyan tore through. Picture: AP Source: AP
Missing woman Maiko "Michelle" Reimann. Source: Supplied
TEN days ago Melbourne's Maiko "Michelle'' Reimann boasted of finding paradise in the Philippines, delightedly telling her friends: "I may never leave.''
With his daughter missing amid a paradise in ruins, Michelle's father, Werner Reimann, said he was desperately hoping to hear from the 28-year-old for the first time since a brief text in the tense hours leading up to Typhoon Haiyan.
Mr Reimann told the Herald Sun he last heard from Michelle on Friday and now fears the worst.
"Before it hit she sent a text message to her mother,'' he said.
"We sent one back saying go to the highest building.
"I hope she's OK but it would be nice to be sure.''
Michelle arrived in the Philippines on the trip of a lifetime days before the deadly storm, which is feared to have killed up to 10,000 people, struck the village where she was staying.
Typhoon hell: Desperation as 10,000 feared dead
UPDATE: SURVIVORS of Typhoon Haiyan, that may have killed more than 10,000, have been left to rummage for food through debris scattered with corpses.
Silence leaves father fearing the worst
THE father of a Melbourne woman missing amid the devastation of super Typhoon Haiyan has pleaded with her to contact her family.
The solo traveller posted a picture of a peaceful, picturesque ocean in the region on her Facebook site and wrote: "I found it, I found paradise! I may never leave.''
On Friday, one of the most intense typhoons on record wreaked havoc in the region.
More powerful than 2005's Hurricane Katrina, it tore roofs off buildings and caused giant waves that washed away homes and left bodies in the streets.
Michelle left Melbourne in May, quitting a job in advertising so she could see the world.
Her journey around the globe had already taken her to Thailand, China and Malaysia before she arrived in the Philippines on her backpacking adventure last month.
Writing on her travel blog before leaving Victoria she said: "I believe life is too short not to be doing what you love!
"So I have packed up my life in Melbourne to live a life of adventure and to explore this world.''
She was due back next month for her brother's graduation as a doctor in Queensland but her dad was yesterday concerned for her safety.
"When you see the devastation that has occurred you get worried, definitely,'' he said.
peter.rolfe@news.com.au
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