human sa bagyong (YOLANDA) TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION A general shot shows houses destroyed by the strong winds caused by Typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban City. AFP MANILA, Philippines—Rescuers in Tacloban City in Leyte counted at least 100 dead and many more injured Saturday a day after one of the most powerful typhoons on record ripped through the central Philippine province, wiping away buildings and leveling seaside homes in massive storm surges, then headed for Vietnam. With communications and roads still cut off, Captain John Andrews, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, said he had received “reliable information” by radio from his staff that more than 100 bodies were lying in the streets of Tacloban on hardest-hit Leyte Island. Armed Forces Central Command spokesman Lieutenant Jim Alagao, quoting reports from soldiers on the ground, said “too many” bodies lay in the streets and that the city was a scene of “total devastation.” He said he could not say how many people died in the storm in Leyte alone, one of five islands where Typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) slammed Friday. ‘They’re too many’ “There’s no number yet. But they’re too many,” Alagao told INQUIRER.net. He said soldiers were having a hard time retrieving bodies as fallen trees and toppled posts block the roads. Regional military commander Lieutenant General Roy Deveraturda said that the casualty figure “probably will increase,” after viewing aerial photographs of the widespread devastation caused by the typhoon. Andrews said the airport in Tacloban City, about 580 kilometers south of Manila, “is completely ruined” by storm surges, forcing aviation authorities to close the terminal for commercial flights. “The terminal, the tower, including communication equipment, were destroyed,” he said, as he recounted the airport manager’s assessment. The runway was cleared early Saturday to make way for C-130s planes of the Philippine Air Force which delivered relief goods and carried emergency personnel, he said. Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras, a senior aide to President Benigno Aquino III, said that the number of casualties could not be immediately determined, but that the figure was “probably in that range” given by Andrews. Government troops were helping recover bodies, he said. US Marine Colonel Mike Wylie, who surveyed the damage in Tacloban prior to possible American assistance, said that the damage to the runway was significant. Military planes were still able to land with relief aid. “The storm surge came in fairly high and there is significant structural damage and trees blown over,” he told the Associated Press. Wylie is a member of the US-Philippines Military Assistance Group based in Manila. Storm surges more than 10 feet had pounded the area, the Philippine Red Cross said. In scenes reminiscent of tsunami damage, some houses in Tacloban, with a population of about 220,000 people, were completely destroyed, with piles of splintered wood lying on concrete slabs, while others had just the stone frames remaining. Almost all the trees and electric posts were torn down, while cars were overturned. Some dazed and injured survivors wandered around the carnage asking journalists for water, while others sorted through what was left of their destroyed homes.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 09:57:37 +0000
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