More than 1,000 people have been killed in the Philippines after one of the strongest typhoons ever to make landfall struck the country Friday, the Red Cross said. The coastal city of Tacloban and Samar province are among the most devastated areas.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in the Philippines after one of the strongest typhoons ever to make landfall struck the country on Friday, the Red Cross has said.
The coastal city of Tacloban and the province of Samar were among the most devastated areas hit by Typhoon Haiyan, where scores of bodies lay in the street, according to Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross.
"An estimated more than 1,000 bodies were seen floating in Tacloban as reported by our Red Cross teams," she told Reuters news agency. "In Samar, about 200 deaths. Validation is ongoing."
The typhoon also knocked out power and communications across a number of islands.
Nearly 750,000 people were forced to flee their homes and damage was believed to be extensive.
Weather officials said Haiyan had sustained winds of 235 kph (147 mph) with gusts of 275 kph (170 mph) when it made landfall.
Because of cut-off communications, it was impossible to know the full extent of casualties and damage.
Fearing the worst
Southern Leyte Governor Roger Mercado said the typhoon ripped roofs off houses and triggered landslides that blocked roads.
“When you're faced with such a scenario, you can only pray, and pray and pray,” Mercado told The Associated Press by telephone, adding that mayors in the province had not called in to report any major damage.
“I hope that means they were spared and not the other way around,'' he said. “My worst fear is there will be massive loss of lives and property.”
Eduardo del Rosario, head of the disaster response agency, said the speed at which the typhoon hit the central islands – 40 kph (25 mph) – helped prevent its 600-kilometre (375-mile) band of clouds from depositing enough rain to overflow waterways.
Flooding is often the main cause of death from typhoons.
“It has helped that the typhoon blew very fast in terms of preventing lots of casualties,” regional military commander Lieutenant General Roy Deveraturda said. He said a massive evacuation of villagers before the storm also saved many lives.
Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons are the same thing. They are just called different names in different parts of the world.
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