One of the most powerful tropical cyclones in known history based on wind speed has made a landfall on the Philippine island of Samar.
Super Typhoon Haiyan has sustained winds of 195 mph (315 kph) and wind gusts of 235 mph (380 kph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, besting the previous record held by Hurricane Camile, which struck the US in Mississippi with 190 mph (305 kph) winds in 1969.
Haiyan is expected to move over the Central Philippines in the next 18 hours before emptying into the South China Sea on Saturday, according to Reuters.
Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III warned of the super typhoon’s potential force ahead of its arrival, as thousands were being evacuated.
“Let me repeat myself: This is a very real danger, and we can mitigate and lessen its effects if we use the information available to prepare,” said Aquino.
Aquino added that his government has three C-130 cargo aircraft ready, as well as 32 planes and helicopters.
“The effects of this storm can be eased through solidarity,” he said.
Thee storm is supposedly 500 miles (800 km) in diameter, according to CNN.
Guiuan, with a population of 47,000, likely suffered severe damage from Haiyan, Weather Underground reported. Communication with Guiuan was lost amid the storm, which hit there at 04:00 local time on Friday.
Jeff Masters of Weather Underground said the storm’s winds and rain will cause “widespread devastation” through Central Philippines.
UPDATES..!!
10,000 feared killed in Philippines by super typhoon Haiyan
An estimated 10,000 people might have been killed in the central Philippine province of Leyte alone, which was almost completely destroyed by the powerful typhoon Haiyan, local authorities said.
The typhoon has devastated up to 80 percent of the Leyte province area as it ripped through the Philippines, Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria told Reuters.
“We had a meeting last night with the governor and other officials. The governor said based on their estimate, 10,000 died,” Soria said.
Most of the dead drowned or were killed by collapsed buildings, authorities say. Tacloban city administrator Tecson Lim told AP that the death toll in Leyte province city alone “could go up to 10,000.”
Police have been deployed to patrol the ruins of Tacloban to prevent looting as desperate residents look for food and water, said Philippine Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, describing the situation as “horrific.”
“The dead are on the streets, they are in their houses, they are under the debris, they are everywhere,” said Lim, adding that only about 400 bodies have been recovered so far.
The Red Cross said earlier that 1,200 people we confirmed dead in the Philippines.
Roxas said earlier on Saturday that it was too soon to announce any final figures.
“The rescue operation is ongoing. We expect a very high number of fatalities as well as injured,” Roxas told AP. “All systems, all vestiges of modern living — communications, power, water — all are down. Media is down, so there is no way to communicate with the people in a mass sort of way.”
Across Leyte on Samar Island, at least 300 people have been killed and another 2,000 are missing, Leo Dacaynos of Samar province’s disaster office told AP.
The storm weakened on Saturday after moving away from the Philippines toward Vietnam.
Vietnamese authorities meanwhile evacuated over 500,000 people to safer areas in preparation for the tumult which is forecast to make a landfall on Sunday afternoon.
‘International relief effort mission’
On Saturday Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said the casualties “will be substantially more,” than initially feared but gave no official figure. The priority for the government he said was to restore communications and power in remote areas and to deliver relief and medical assistance to families.
The Philippine Red Cross is preparing for a relief mission “because of the magnitude of the disaster,” says Richard Gordon, the agencies head.
But logistically speaking getting aid to the devastated regions of Leyte, 560 km from the capital could be difficult as the airport was destroyed.
Russia’s emergencies ministry has offered to help by providing search and rescue personal and a mobile hospital.
“If necessary, we will fly two planes to the Philippines with an operational group of 50 people,” Russian Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman Irina Rossius told Itar-Tass.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Washington “stands ready to help.” In the meantime the US navy is assessing the extent of the damage on the ground.
The UN will also be involved in the relief effort, the UN Disaster Coordination Team (UNDAC) has arrived in the city of Tacloban.
“The United Nations agencies in the Philippines, with their humanitarian partners, are supporting the Government and other responders in their efforts to assess the situation and respond rapidly with vital supplies, through the coordination system led by the local authorities,” said Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are also stepping in to help as “the Government estimates that some 4.3 million people are affected, across 36 provinces.”
UNICEF estimates that up to 1.7 million children could be affected by the typhoon.
“UNICEF’s first priorities are focused on life-saving interventions – getting essential medicines, nutrition supplies, safe water and hygiene supplies to children and families,” said UNICEF’s representative in the Philippines, Tomoo Hozumi.
In addition, the World Food Programme (WFP) has so far allocated $2 million for the response as it sent 40 metric tonnes of high-energy biscuits to the victims.
A number of NGOs are also mobilizing their resources to help the families in the Philippines.
Save the Children and World Vision have started an online campaign to raise funds for those effected by the natural disaster.
Operation USA, a Los Angeles-based international relief agency is calling for donations to aid recovery efforts and funding for grant distribution to local agencies in the affected areas.
Habitat for Humanity is trying to help rebuild houses “by sending in your donations that can help them rebuild their homes. Habitat for Humanity Philippines Shelter Repair Kits (SRK) costs Php 15,000 ($350) which is good for one family. This amount can help families repair even heavily damaged houses,” reads their online call to action.
Looting, Chaos Follows after Breakdown of Law and Order in Tacloban City
Leyte, Philippines – After Typhoon Yolanda’s catastrophic devastation, chaos filled the streets of Tacloban City. Widespread looting followed, as some people fend for food and survival in the aftermath of the super typhoon.
Reports of looting in a mall and a grocery store were reported, wil throngs of people breaking into shops taking whatever they can – food, household items, appliances, and clothes.
Even Automated Teller Machines(ATMs) were not spared, destroyed in order to get cash, according to a report.
In a news report over ABS-CBN TV Patrol Weekend, hundreds of people were seen forcibly entering Gaisano Mall taking advantage of the breakdown of law and order in the city, each one stealing all kinds of goods they could lay their hands on. Items like televisions, refrigerators, electric fans, bicycles, bags and even ice cream freezers were seen carried out of the store and into the streets by typhoon victims as widespread power outage in the city and all other adjacent towns of Leyte continue due damaged infrastructure. Police and military presence were also very low as of this time, the report said. In a separate report by GMA’s Jiggy Manicad, a storage facility of a grocery store was said to have been broken into by several men, taking as many items as they can, mostly bread and softdrink bottles.
One man, who was not identified admits stealing food and other goods from the grocery store. He said they all just wanted to survive, like many other typhoon victims in the province.
“Sabi sa grocery, okay lang daw na kunin namin yung pagkain nila, pero wag lang yung mga dried goods. Mahirap po. Namatayan na nga kami eh. Kailangan naming isalba ang buhay namin. Wala naman nang silbi ang pera ngayon,” he said. (According to the grocery (owner), its okay to take those foods, but not the dry goods. One in my family was killed already. We need to save our lives. Cash money becomes useless now.)
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines posted on its Twitter account, their efforts to deal with the chaos and restore law and order in the city as they work together with Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Philippine national Police (PNP).
Its message read; ‘unverified reports of anarchy/looting in Tacloban. We assure you that we are doing our part in helping @DILG & @pnppio restore order.(It is) imperative that command and control be firmly placed in islands of Leyte, Cebu, and Panay to allow @DILG & @pnppio to reestablish order.’
Tacloban City is among the hardest hit in the province and has an estimated population of 200,000 people, now mostly struggling to live after the calamity. Early reports counted the deaths to 30, just in the city and Palo town. The number is expected to rise as search and rescue attempts by government agencies continue.
Loss: A mother weeps beside the dead body of her son at a chapel in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban
Operation: A Vietnamese soldier carries a young girl from a lorry as villagers are evacuated to a safe place by the military
Braced: Residents in Phu Yen, Vietnam, prepare sandbags in preparation for the storm which is expected to reach the coast on Sunday morning
Strengthen: Soldiers and workers reinforce a dyke with weather experts predicting sea surges to hit the Vietnamese coast
Bolster: Troops help prepare a house for the arrival of typhoon Haiyan at a village in the central province of Quang Tri
Desolation: This picture shows an flattened area of the destroyed Tacloban city covered by debris and flood water
Damage: More ruined buildings in Tacloban city, Leyte, can be seen lining the coast of the devastated area
Debris: A Philippine flag lies in the rubble of damaged houses
Loss: Around four million people in the Philippines are said to have been affected, according to the the country’s national disaster agency
Joint effort: Villagers throw up sandbags to the roof of a house in Quang Nam province, Vietnam
Gusts: Palm trees show the wind has already picked up along the coast of Vietnam, prompting fisherman to move their boats from the beach
Wind: The boats have been moved onto a road as a safety precaution
Braced: Red Cross staff in Danang Province, Vietnam, fill sandbags in preparation for the coming storm
Protection: Local volunteers dig a trench to provide shelter from the typhoon which is heading for mainland Asia
Flattened: A Filipino boy stands among the debris in Tacloban, Leyte – one of the worst areas hit by category five storm Typhoon Haiyan
Death: It has been estimated by the Red Cross that 1,000 of the 1,200 people killed by the typhoon were residents of Tacloban
Widespread: This picture shows acres of flooded rice fields in the Iloilo Province, another area devastated by the typhoon
Pragmatic: Villagers dig a makeshift shelter to protect themselves from the ferocious weather which is expected to impact 6.5 million people in Vietnam
Precautions: Fisherman anchor their boats in Vietnam in preparation for the arrival of one of the worst storms on record
Plans: An elderly woman is taken from her home in Danang, Vietnam, as the government begins to evacuate 100,000 people lying in the path of typhoon Haiyan
Properties: Volunteers place sand bags on the roof of a house
Sheets are draped over the boats in an effort to soften the impact of the storm
From above: An aerial view shows badly damaged houses, including many without a roof, and blocked roads in the Philippine province of Iloilo
Recovery: A child is lifted to safety from a house in Tacloban, left, and two residents sit on the pavement in front of their home in the same city, right
Badly hit: A group of houses in a coastal community in Iloilo Province, central Philippines, that have been destroyed. Boats lie thrown along the coastline also
Wreckage: An image from footage shot by Philippine broadcaster ABS-CBN shows a man carrying a child through the debris in Leyte, Philippines
Flattened: The typhoon has ravaged most of the city of Tacloban and destroyed the airport
Ruins: A resident sifts through rubbish inside his ruined home, flattened by 235mph winds in the devastated city of Tacloban
Scale: This image shows the enormous Typhoon Haiyan taken by Astronaut Karen L. Nyberg aboard the Internatioal Space Station
Satellite: A picture posted on Twitter by NASA at 8.00pm GMT shows the centre of the moving across the South China Sea towards the coast of Vietnam
Path: Once the typhoon has reached the coast of Vietnam it is expected to moved towards the capital, Hanoi, with parts of Laos and Cambodia also likely to be affected
Loss: A pregnant woman, left, walks around the remains of her home while a young boy, right, walks past a crushed car in the destroyed town of Tacloban
Shock: A woman stands amidst the devastation. Flood water can be seen in the background covering most of the area around the demolished building
Temporary: Bodies of victims lay in a deserted chapel in Tacloban. A woman and child, right, view the distressing scene
Flooding: Locals in Coron, Palawan, walk among damaged buildings and flooded streets after the typhoon – one of the most powerful to ever hit land
Terrifying: Filipino children are seen in the city of Tacloban, Leyte. Behind them is a scene of devastation with homes flattened and debris lying in the street
Picking up the pieces: Some residents try to go about their daily business despite the large-scale destruction
Tragedy: Bodies of residents can be seen in the streets of Tacloban, while one local is forced to transport a body in a wheelbarrow
Collapsed: A resident walks past her destroyed home – flattened by piles of wood and branches from nearby trees – in Tacloban city
Aftermath: A lorry that had been picked up by the wind and slammed in to a tree, is pictured left, while residents attempt to move their belongings across a fallen branch
Debris: Helicopters hover over the damaged area of Tacloban city, which was battered with strong winds yesterday
Destroyed: Typhoon Haiyan also badly damaged an airport, pictured, in battered Tacloban city – which could affect deliveries of essential aid supplies
Disaster zone: This map shows the trajectory of the devastating storm as it heads towards Vietnam
Washed up: Filipino soldiers disembark from a plane stopped at the devastated airport in Tacloban city, Leyte
Ruin: A man wipes his face while surveying the damage to one area of Tacloban. Branches from trees can be seen strewn across the land
Victim: A resident walks past dead bodies that lie on the street in Tacloban city, Leyte province
Under water: Residents wade through a flooded street in Mindoro, Philippines this morning following the typoon
Pile up: Vehicles and rubbish are pictured strewn across a flooded street in Tacloban, Leyte
Upside down: A devastated airport in Tacloban city, Leyte province – where roofs were ripped on hundreds of houses
Shock: These two pictures show the devastation in Coron, Palawan where buildings have been flattened, left and right, leaving residents helplessly walking the streets.
Space: A digital composite of Typhoon Haiyan approaching the Philippines, made using images captured geostationary satellites of the Japan Meteorological Agency
Rebuilding their lives: Two men in Iloilo move some of their belongings through flood waters covering the streets
Assessment: A resident of Manila looks at the damage to his home. Poorer families with less stable houses were the worst affected, according to reports
Carrying on: Despite the devastation Filipinos have emerged from their shelters today to begin the recovery effort. Some used motorcycles to ford the flood waters
Devastation: Debris which was washed in by the storm litters the road by the coastal village in Legazpi city. Residents now face a long clean up operation
Assistance: People queue for relief goods on the eastern island of Leyte this morning
Hanging on: A fisherman in Manila is forced to cling on to his equipment, left, while there was little hope for other less stable buildings in the storm’s path, right
Higher ground: Residents of Legaspi, Albay province, south of Manila resident, were forced to flee the coast as Haiyan continued to pound the sea wall today
Terrifying: Residents run for their lives as the terrible gusts of the typhoon buffet the popular tourist city of Cebu. Trees and roofs were torn off by the storm
Blocked: Residents clear the road in the island province of Cebu after a tree was toppled by strong winds during typhoon Haiyan
Aid effort: Volunteers pack relief goods inside a Department of Social Welfare and Development warehouse before shipping out to devastated provinces
Shelter: Filipino residents sleep on the floor of a gymnasium turned into an evacuation center in Sorsogon City in the Bicol region
Helpless: People look on as their village hall in Iloilo province is washed into the flood waters
Evacuations: Residents living near the slopes of Mayon volcano are evacuated to public schools by police in anticipation of the powerful typhoon Haiyan
Looking for cover: Filipino residents climb into a makeshift shelter at a coastal village in Las Pinas city, south of Manila
(Update From PAGASA 11/11, 5:00am) ‘Zorayda’ Enters the Country, Storm Signal No. 1 Raised Over 7 Areas in Mindanao
MANILA - After Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan), a new cyclone started to affect the weather over the country early Monday morning.
From its 5 a.m. bulletin, forecaster Meno Mendoza of The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced over the radio (dzBB) ‘that the cyclone, a tropical depression, was locally code-named Zoraida after entering the PAR at 4 a.m.’
Mendoza added that ‘Zoraida may follow the same path as Yolanda, with a possibility it will make landfall before dawn of Tuesday.’
‘Zorayda’ was spotted at 4 a.m. at 950 kilometers southeast of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur (5.0ºN, 135.0ºE) with maximum sustained winds of 55 kph. It is forecast to move northwest at 28 kph.
PAGASA has raised Public storm signal no. 1 over seven areas in Mindanao as tropical depression Zorayda entered the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR).
The following areas affected are:
- Dinagat Island
- Siargao Island,
- Agusan del Norte
- Agusan del Sur
- Davao del Norte
- Surigao del Sur and
- Davao Oriental
Under this storm signal, wind speed of 30-60 kilometers per hour (kph) and its effect may be felt in the next 36 hours.
Mindanao and Eastern Visayas will be cloudy with light to moderate rainshowers and thunderstorms. The rest of Visayas will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms. Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains.
Moderate to strong winds blowing from the Northeast will prevail over Luzon and and coming from the Northeast to North over Mindanao. The coastal waters throughout the archipelago will be with moderate to rough.
Super Typhoon Haiyan hits Philippines with all-time record winds (update) 10,000 feared dead
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