T(pray for the p;eople: acloban Airport is covered by debris after powerful Typhoon Haiyan hit the city of Tacloban, in the central Philippines, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. In the aftermath of the typhoon, people were seen weeping while retrieving bodies of loved ones inside buildings and on a street that was littered with fallen trees, roofing material and other building parts torn off in the storms fury. All that was left of one large building whose walls were smashed in were the skeletal remains of its rafters. Many packed evacuation centers collapsed in Tacloban as the typhoon raged, a police official said. He said he saw a popular mall being looted Saturday by residents who carted away anything they can lay their hands on, including a flat-screen TV, a small refrigerator, food items, clothes and even a Christmas tree. Smaller shops with guards brandishing their pistols were spared, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters. ABS-CBN television anchor Ted Failon, who was able to report only briefly Friday from Tacloban, said the storm surge was like the tsunami in Japan. The sea engulfed Tacloban, he said, explaining that a major part of the city is surrounded on three sides by the waters between Leyte and Samar islands. Photos: Typhoon Haiyan Slams into PhilippinesResidents (R) stand along a sea wall as high waves pounded them amidst strong winds as Typhoon Haiyan hit the city of Legaspi, Albay province, south of Manila on November 8, 2013. One of the most intense typhoons on record whipped the Philippines on November 8, killing three people and terrifying millions as monster winds tore roofs off buildings and giant waves washed away flimsy homes.AFP PHOTO/CHARISM SAYAT (Photo credit should read Charism SAYAT/AFP/Getty Images)The Philippine television station GMA reported that its news team saw 11 bodies, including that of a child, washed ashore Friday and 20 more bodies at a pier in Tacloban hours after the typhoon ripped through the coastal city. At least 20 more bodies were taken to a church in nearby Palo town that was used as an evacuation center but had to be abandoned when its roofs were blown away, the TV network reported. TV images showed howling winds peeling off tin roof sheets during heavy rain. Ferocious winds felled large branches and snapped coconut trees. A man was shown carrying the body of his 6-year-old daughter who had drowned, and another image showed vehicles piled up in debris. Nearly 800,000 people were forced to flee their homes and damage was believed to be extensive. About 4 million people were affected by the typhoon, the national disaster agency said. Relief workers said they were struggling to find ways to deliver food and other supplies, with roads blocked by landslides and fallen trees. Tim Ticar, a local tourism officer, said 6,000 foreign and local tourists were stranded on the popular resort island of Boracay, one of the tourist spots in the typhoons path. The storms sustained winds weakened Saturday to 101 mph with stronger gusts as it blew farther away from the Philippines toward Vietnam. Haiyan was forecast to hit central Vietnams coast on Sunday afternoon, making its way to the northern part of the country before likely weakening to a tropical storm. Vietnamese authorities in four central provinces were evacuating more than 500,000 people from high-risk areas to government buildings, schools and other concrete homes able to withstand strong winds. The evacuation is being conducted with urgency, disaster official Nguyen Thi Yen Linh said from central Danang City, where some 76,000 were being moved to safety. Hundreds of thousands of others were being taken to shelters in the provinces of Quang Ngai, Quang Nam and Thua Thien Hue. Schools were closed and two deputy prime ministers were sent to the region to direct the preparations.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 00:03:00 +0000