As many as 10,000 people are believed to have died in one Philippine city alone when one of the worst storms on record sent giant sea waves, washing away homes, schools and airport buildings, officials said Sunday. Ferocious winds ravaged several central islands, burying people under tons of debris and leaving corpses hanging from trees.
Regional police chief Elmer Soria said he was briefed by Leyte provincial Gov. Dominic Petilla late Saturday and told there were about 10,000 deaths in the province, mostly by drowning and from collapsed buildings. The governor’s figure was based on reports from village officials in areas where Typhoon Haiyan slammed Friday.
Tacloban city administrator Tecson Lim said that the death toll in the city alone “could go up to 10,000.” Tacloban is the Leyte provincial capital of 200,000 people and the biggest city on Leyte Island.
Source: The Huffington Post – The Huffington Post: Philippines Typhoon Death Toll Rises In Storm’s Aftermath
After most major media reports focused on the massive devastation to the Philippine city of Tacloban where at least 10,000 are feared dead, the Philippine Red Cross has released information that the damage in that city is being reported all along the coastline.
Samar, located across the Gulf of Leyte, is still unreachable in many areas by government officials and military troops. Villages all along the coastline were swamped with waves of 20 feet or more and some small fishing villages are completely gone.
The Philippine Armed Forces Central Command said their official death toll is 942 but that with so many places still inaccessible to military troops and the counts of the dead nowhere near done in places they can reach, that total is not even close to a full accounting of victims.
Residents moving seven miles outside of downtown Tacloban to the city’s airport are describing the situation as “worse than hell.” One woman yelled at President Benigno Aquino to get international help to their nation now.
Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez, who barely escaped being killed himself, said that he does not know a single person who has not lost at least one close relative in the storm.
Aid workers are now concerned for survivors because drinking water from wells is likely contaminated and that disease could cause thousands of deaths over the next few weeks.
Haiyan isn’t through yet.
The massive Super Typhoon roared through the Philippines on Friday but is tracking to hit Vietnam this weekend with winds over 155 m.p.h.
The current storm track shows Haiyan making landfall in central Vietnam before turning north toward the city of Hanoi and southern China. The storm is expected to weaken but stay hurricane strength through Monday.
Thousands of flights throughout Asia have been cancelled because of the storm and residents of Vietnam have been told to evacuate coastal areas after the devastation caused in the Philippines. Several foreign governments, including Britain, Australia and Canada, have advised citizens not to travel to the Philippines because of the storm damage.
Philippine authorities are reporting massive landslides as a result of the heavy rain from the typhoon. The landslides have blocked many of the major roads that would be used by rescuers trying to reach remote villages or coastal areas.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino told residents the government and military were preparing a “war-like” response to the storm to be ready to assist in any way needed by local authorities.
Meterologists say Super Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines with sustained winds of 195 miles per hour, making it the strongest storm to make landfall in recorded history.
The storm has forced millions to seek shelter in 20 provinces and authorities have been able to confirm three deaths already from the storm. Two were electrocuted in storm related incidents and a third was struck by lightning.
The storm is threatening to cause massive causalities and damage in Cebu, the country’s second largest city. Power and communications throughout the country have been taken out hampering the efforts of rescue teams.
Witnesses are saying the storm has been blowing large pieces of iron sheeting through the streets like they were kites and other debris is slamming into buildings like they were missiles.
Surigao City, which was not in the path of the storm’s center, reported that despite being sideswiped by the storm there was massive damage to homes and buildings. A pastor in the town told the BBC that most homes had their roofs blown off.
The storm is now moving into the South China Sea.
Super Typhoon Haiyan, which slammed into the Philippines early Friday morning, is one of the strongest storms ever recorded on the planet. Here are some fast facts about the storm:
• Super Typhoon Haiyan has winds of 195 mph and gusts of 235 mph. This is one of the highest wind speeds ever recorded in a storm in world history.
• The strength of Haiyan is equal to that of an extremely powerful Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic. (Typhoons are the same type of storms as hurricanes).
Source: USA Today – USA Today: Why everyone is talking about the super typhoon
Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever observed, made landfall Friday morning in the Philippines, the country’s weather service reported.
Thousands of people in vulnerable areas of the central Philippines were evacuated as the monster storm spun toward the country.
With sustained winds of 315 kph (195 mph) and gusts as strong as 380 kph (235 mph), Haiyan churned across the Western Pacific into the Philippines.
Source: CNN – CNN: Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of strongest storms ever, hits central Philippines
Thousands are fleeing the Philippine coastline as Category 5 Super Typhoon Haiyan moves closer to making Friday landfall.
The storm is maintaining winds of 190 m.p.h. with gusts recorded over 230 m.p.h.. Meteorologists say it’s possible that the storm could continue to strengthen over the warm Pacific Ocean water before making landfall.
The U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii said that Haiyan is the strongest tropical cyclone in the world for 2013 and one of the strongest in recorded history. The storm is so large that a day before the main part of the storm is to make landfall clouds have covered two-thirds of the entire nation.
The typhoon is tracking to make landfall in the same region a 7.3 magnitude earthquake killed 200 people last month. Military officials are trying to move tens of thousands still forced to live in tents to a more sturdy shelter before the storm’s arrival.
Haiyan is the 24th named storm to hit the Philippines this year.
Authorities in the Philippines’ Bohol province have raised the official death toll from last week’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake to 183 and the count of wounded to 583.
The massive quake destroyed over 8,600 homes in Quezon City.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said that landslides were reported throughout Bohol province and that outside Quezon City more than 8,500 homes were destroyed and over 26,000 were damaged.
The NDRRMC also said that many roads and bridges have suffered significant structural damage and many government buildings are unstable.
The earthquake has displaced more than 3.5 million people across six provinces.
The Philippines are directly above the Pacific Ring of Fire noted for its volcanic and earthquake activity.
A major earthquake has struck in the Philippines under an island that is popular with tourists.
Bohol Island and nearby Cebu both were heavily shaken resulting in destruction of buildings and markets. The governor of Bohol told the BBC that a church and city hall building were heavily damaged by the quake.
At least six people are dead according to local officials. Dozens more have been taken to area hospitals.
“Communication lines are quite difficult here,” Neil Sanchez of the Cebu disaster management office told ABS-CBN news agency. “Even the disaster risk reduction management office has been damaged. We had to move elsewhere.”
The Philippines are located on the Pacific Ring of Fire of seismic and volcanic activity.
The death toll from Typhoon Usagi in China has jumped to 25 as officials are able to access more areas cut off because of flood waters and damage from the super typhoon.
The dead were either killed by flying debris or drowned in the flash flooding created by the storm. Continue reading →