The Biggest Storm in the World This Year Is Headed for the Philippines

[gatagato]

Tacloban devastated; at least 100 dead

A general shot shows houses destroyed by the strong winds caused by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) at Tacloban, eastern island of Leyte on November 9, 2013

MANILA, Philippines (2ND UPDATE) – The outside world is slowly getting an idea of the extent of damage left in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda (international codename Haiyan), with reports of roughly a hundred dead and extensive damage to infrastructure.

Capt John Andrews, Deputy Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), told dzMM that he got reports of roughly 100 people presumed dead, "and that's only the count of bodies on the streets."

"This report was relayed to us by our station manager so it is considered very reliable information," he told the station. The information was relayed by high-frequency radio to authorities.

Of the region, Philippine Red Cross chief Gwendolyn Pang told Agence France-Presse, "We have reports of collapsed buildings, houses flattened to the ground, storm surges and landslides."

"But we don't know really, we can't say how bad the damage is... hopefully today we can get a better picture as to the effects of the super typhoon," Pang added.

Guiuan, a fishing town of about 40,000 people on Samar, was the first to be hit after Haiyan swept in from the Pacific Ocean. Pang said contact had not yet been made with Guiuan.

She also said relief workers were trying reach Capiz province, about 200 kilometers west of Tacloban, on Panay island where she said most of the region's infrastructure had been destroyed.

Tacloban is Eastern Visayas' regional administrative center, and the capital of Leyte, a province of at least 2 million people.
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/09/wo...yphoon-haiyan/
http://www.rappler.com/nation/43285-...-tacloban-city

[gatagato]

Death toll now estimated at 1,200 , this is horrific

The Philippines Red Cross said it has received reports of 1,200 deaths in two areas devastated by typhoon Haiyan.

The agency said that at least 1,000 had been killed in Tacloban and 200 in Samar province. The typhoon has passed over the Philippines and is expected to hit Vietnam later today. Communication and transports links have been disrupted by the storm making it difficult to assess damage and offer assistance.

Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross, said the numbers came from preliminary reports by Red Cross teams in Tacloban and Samar, among the most devastated areas hit by typhoon Haiyan on Friday.

"An estimated more than 1,000 bodies were seen floating in Tacloban as reported by our Red Cross teams," she told Reuters. "In Samar, about 200 deaths. Validation is ongoing."

The death toll from typhoon Haiyan is expected to rise sharply as rescue workers reach areas cut off by the fast-moving storm, whose circumference eclipsed the whole country and which late on Saturday was heading for Vietnam.

Roads in the coastal city of Tacloban in the central Leyte province, one of the worst-hit areas, were either underwater or blocked by fallen trees and power lines, and debris from homes blown away by Haiyan. Bodies covered in plastic sheeting were lying on the streets.

"The last time I saw something of this scale was in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami," said Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, head of the UN disaster ssessment co-ordination team sent to Tacloban. "This is destruction on a massive scale. There are cars thrown like tumbleweed and the streets are strewn with debris."

The category 5 "super typhoon" weakened to a category 4 on Saturday, though forecasters said it could strengthen again over the South China Sea, en route to Vietnam.

Authorities in 15 provinces in Vietnam have started to call back boats and prepare for possible landslides. Nearly 300,000 people were moved to safer areas in two provinces alone – Da Nang and Quang Nam – according to the government's website.

Aaron Aspi, of World Vision, described the typhoon in a telephone interview with the Guardian. He travelled to the island of Bohol from Manilla to help people recover from an earthquake last month. The termor killed around 200 people and left thousands homeless.

He said many of the homeless people were releuctant to shelter in buildings from the typhoon because they were so scared of the continuing aftershocks from the earthquake. When the wind blew away their tents they rushed to already crowdeed evacuation centres.

"We get around 25 cyclones per year but I have never seen winds like this even as a humanitarian worker. If I did not hang on to railings when I walked between buildings, I would have been blown away," he said.

In the city of Tagbilaran, Aspi said there was no electricity and flooding in coastal areas. "It is pitch black and all I can see is flickers of light. Many trees, street lamps and electricty poles have been knocked down," he said.

Aspi said that there no reports of casualties yet but Bohol was expecting its next typhoon to hit on Wednesday. The Filippino national disaster agency has yet to confirm casualty figures in Tacloban but broken power poles, trees, bent tin roofs and splintered houses littered the streets of the city about 360 miles south-east of Manila. The airport was destroyed as seawaters swept through the city.

"Almost all houses were destroyed, many are totally damaged. Only a few are left standing," said Major Rey Balido, a spokesman for the national disaster agency.

Local television network ABS-CBN showed images of looting in one of the city's biggest malls, with residents carting away everything from appliances to suitcases and grocery items. About a million people took shelter in 37 provinces after President Benigno Aquino appealed to those in the typhoon's path to leave vulnerable areas.

Last year, Typhoon Bopha flattened three towns in southern Mindanao, killing 1,100 people and causing damage of more than £60m.

[Shakey]

I have a friend named Aszet that lives there. She said she is OK.

[shoelessjojackson]

What about Angeles City?

[Blewvane]

Originally Posted by shoelessjojackson

What about Angeles City?

I'm sure your ladyboys are fine and back at work already.

[Arkoquisa]

I wonder how strong it will be when it hit the SE mainland. I love hurricanes, and have been through at least a dozen tropical storms/hurricanes in my life, but this is beyond anything I would be able to comprehend. Must be awful.

[Blewvane]

Leyte is trashed, death toll won't be known for weeks at the very soonest. Cebu and Mactan got hammered, coastal dwellings blew away, trees down everywhere, powerlines down, communication towers survived but overloaded. There is looting, martial law in certain areas. Phone line quality is bad and dropped out every minute or 2. I will post another update later.

[gatagato]

Death toll after Philippines typhoon could reach 10,000, according to local officials

Authorities expect a “very high number of fatalities” after one of the strongest typhoons on record devastated the central Philippines, cutting communications and severely damaging an airport in one of the hardest-hit regions.

A senior regional police official and a city administrator in the typhoon-ravaged city of Tacloban in the central Philippines said early Sunday that the death toll there could reach 10,000 people, according to the Associated Press.

Regional police chief Elmer Soria said he was briefed by Leyte provincial Gov. Dominic Petilla on Saturday and told there were about 10,000 deaths on the island, mostly by drowning and from collapsed buildings.

Tacloban city administrator Tecson Lim said that the death toll in the city alone "could go up to 10,000."

On Samar Island, which is facing Tacloban, Leo Dacaynos of the provincial disaster office said Sunday that 300 people were confirmed dead in Basey town and another 2,000 are missing.

He said that the storm surge caused sea waters to rise 20 feet when Typhoon Haiyan hit Friday, before crossing to Tacloban.

There are still other towns on Samar that have not been reached, Dacaynos said, and appealed for food and water. Power was knocked out and there was no cellphone signal, making communication possible only by radio.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/11...s-philippines/

[invertigo]

What a nightmare. Rescue workers really have their work cut out for them. I wish I could go help

[kellyhound]

i expect the death toll will raise even higher