Norma Domingo spent a couple of hours of her day off Monday seeking pledges by phone to help victims of flash floods that swept away entire villages earlier this month in the southern Philippines.

Surrounded by chatter from dozens of other callers in a room at the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu, Domingo asked colleagues for donations to help two cities in the Philippines, where the disaster has claimed an estimated 1,500 lives.

"I can’t imagine the suffering that these people have been through," said Domingo, a physical therapist from Kaneohe. "We cannot be there physically, but we can all join hands like this, sit down and make calls."

Philippine officials’ latest tally listed 891 dead in Cagayan de Oro and another 451 in nearby Iligan city. The rest came from other provinces. Victims’ remains were retrieved from sea as far as 60 miles from the two cities hit Dec. 16 by Typhoon Sendong, which unleashed more than a month’s worth of rainfall in 12 hours, sending walls of water crashing into homes. Officials were still searching for bodies on Monday.

In Hawaii, hundreds of residents visited the Filipino Community Center on Monday to donate money or spend time working a phone bank. Many, who don’t even have friends or relatives from the affected region in the Philippines, decided to help after seeing the devastation on television or online.

"Although I’m retired, I tried my best to give some," said Eufracio Arcalas of Ewa Beach, who donated $50. "I feel what do they feel."

Organizers collected $24,150 in cash and checks during Monday’s seven-hour drive, surpassing their goal of $25,000 when adding in phone pledges and mail-in donations. The phone pledges will be counted later this week after the money is received in the mail.

Toy Arre, president of the Filipino Community Center, said 500 to 600 people came to help Monday. He estimated the drive, organized by several local Filipino organizations, may have generated as much as $50,000.

"Things like this happen so often," he said. "You think that people would get tired of donating, but they do. People are always so giving to try and help others."

Arre said despite the news reports of people losing their jobs with the closure of the Hawaii Medical Center hospitals in Ewa and Liliha, many more have lost their homes or their lives in the Philippines.

"There are people who are worse off in the Philippines," he said. "We have to count our blessings no matter how hard life is."

The donations will be divided and given to archbishops of the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.

THE drive was the fourth organized recently by local Filipino organizations for victims of tragedy in Hawaii and the Philippines, and started a discussion among some about starting a long-term disaster relief fund for calamities in the Philippines.

Divina Robillard, president of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Hawaii, said about 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year. An emergency fund would provide a source for disaster funds so residents don’t get burned out from scrambling to organize the fundraising drives.

Lynne Gutierrez, president of the United Filipino Council of Hawaii, said her group has helped with several other relief drives for events in the Philippines.

"Disasters do not discriminate," she said. "We got to be there because you don’t know when will it happen."

"Even though we are far away, we still care about our people in the Philippines," she said. "It’s home away from home. We feel the need to work together."

"I still do feel that prayers help," she continued. "Again, it’s basically how we were brought up, caring, loving people."

Shiela Pesebre of Ewa Beach was stirred by the images of the disaster and volunteered to make phone calls seeking pledges.

"It’s a very good feeling," she said. "Some, even though not Filipinos, they’re also willing to share what they can. It’s really something that’s amazing."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.