On November 11, Emily Ortega, 21, gave birth to a baby girl in an airport amid the typhoon disaster in the Philippines that has left an estimated 10,000 dead.

“She is my miracle,” she told the Agence France-Presse. “I had thought I would die with her still inside me when high waves came and took us all away.” 

She named her new daughter after her mother, who went missing in the storm.

“She is so beautiful. I will name her Bea Joy in honor of my mother, Beatriz,” she whispered shortly after giving birth. 

Her husband, Jobert, was by her side when Ortega went into labor early Monday morning near the coastal town of San Jose. They had to walk towards Tacloban before a truck driver picked up the expectant mom. 

And though the birth is joyous, it’s not without sorrow, given the tragic circumstances surrounding them.

“We are supposed to be celebrating today, but we are also mourning our dead,” Jobert said.

Watch footage of this bittersweet story below.

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Editor: Bryonie Wise