The U.S. military is joining forces from around the world in rushing to the Philippines to help in search and rescue after the strongest storm in recorded history destroyed entire towns.
Two U.S. C-130 planes with water, generators and U.S. Marines flew to the city of Tacloban where officials say Super Typhoon Haiyan killed at least 10,000 people. The Marines will help in search and rescue along with working to help restore communications throughout the region.
The Philippine National Red Cross said their efforts to help those who lost everything in the storm is being hampered by attacks from looters. The group says an entire shipment of food and relief supplies was hijacked from a port city where the items were on the way to rescuers.
The government says it is considering a state of emergency and martial law in the region because of the looting and other civil disruptions that threat the local government’s ability to help those in need.
Authorities say at least 2 million people have lost or damaged homes as a result of the storm. The storm surges from the Super Typhoon were so strong that large ships such as oil transports were washed into the middle of coastal towns.
While over 800,000 people were evacuated before the storm’s arrival, the thousands were killed because shelters like schools, churches and government buildings could not withstand the high wind and storm surges.
The Red Cross is estimating that at least 1,200 people are dead from Super Typhoon Haiyan.
The Philippines’ Disaster and Risk Reduction and Management Council said at least 350,000 people have been confirmed to have lost their homes because of the storm with that number expected to markedly rise in the next few days.
A witness told the Associated Press that he was ripped away from his home by flood water.
“When we were being swept by the water, many people were floating and raising their hands and yelling for help. But what can we do? We also needed to be helped,” Sandy Torotoro told the AP.
The storm surge devastated the airport in Tacloban airport.
“It was like a tsunami,” airport manager Efran Nagrama said. “We escaped through the windows and I held on to a pole for about an hour as rain, seawater and wind swept through the airport. Some of my staff survived by clinging to trees.”
Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, head of a UN disaster assessment co-ordination team said the last time he had seen damage on this level was in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
The storm at one point was so large that it covered the entire nation of the Philippines. The width of the storm measured over the distance between Florida and Canada and packed winds of 195 miles per hour at landfall. The storm moved across the islands at an average speed of 41 miles per hour which officials say likely helped decrease the amount of landslides and flash flooding.
Forecasters now believe the storm will weaken before making landfall late Sunday in central Vietnam.
The death toll from Super Typhoon Haiyan has been reported to be at least 120 and officials expect it to rapidly rise as communications are restored with villages across the Philippines.
The storm devastated the city of Tacloban. Witness reports say the entire city was engulfed by flood waters and the airport was destroyed to the level that only military pilots are able to land. Airport officials said the terminal of the airport was completely destroyed by storm surges. Officials who were able to fly over the city reported to the BBC that they saw at least 100 bodies laying in the streets.
A church in neighboring Palo was crushed by storm surges killing 20 people taking shelter.
“We have reports of collapsed buildings, houses flattened to the ground… storm surges and landslides,” Philippine Red Cross chief Gwendolyn Pang said to news agency AFP. “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.”
Police officials say landslides are making it difficult for local rescue teams and military relief efforts to reach remote villages.
Typhoon Haiyan weakened to a category 4 storm after crossing the Philippines but forecasters say it could likely return to category 5 status before making landfall in central Vietnam on Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of people have already been evacuated from coastal areas and some storm models show Taiyan maintaining hurricane force winds through Monday.
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.
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 →
The strongest storm on Earth in 2013 is bearing down on Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Typhoon Usagi was moving through the Pacific Ocean with 75 m.p.h. sustained winds until yesterday when winds shot through 160 m.p.h. A typhoon becomes a “Super Typhoon” when winds past 150 m.p.h. Continue reading →
