The Red Cross is estimating that at least 1,200 people are dead as rescuers struggle to reach the areas devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in the central Philippines.
The final death toll is expected to rise sharply as rescue workers arrive in the worst hit areas, that were in the wake of Typhoon Haivan whose circumference covered the entire of the Philippines.
Among the worst hit was coastal Tacloban in central Leyte province, where preliminary estimates suggest more than 1,000 people were killed, said Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross, as water surges rushed through the city.
“An estimated more than 1,000 bodies were seen floating in Tacloban as reported by our Red Cross teams,” she told Reuters. “In Samar, about 200 deaths. Validation is ongoing.”
She expected a more exact number to emerge after a more precise counting of bodies on the ground in those regions.
“The last time I saw something of this scale was in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami,” said Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, head of the U.N. Disaster Assessment Coordination Team sent to Tacloban, referring to the 2004 earthquake and tsunami.
“This is destruction on a massive scale. There are cars thrown like tumbleweed and the streets are strewn with debris.”
Nearly 800,000 people were forced to flee their homes, and damage was believed to be extensive.
Weather officials said Haiyan had sustained winds of 147 mph with gusts of 170 mph when it made landfall.
By those measurements, Haiyan would be comparable to a strong category-four hurricane in the US, nearly in the top category, a five.
Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons are the same thing. They are just known by different names in different parts of the world.
Because of cut-off communications in the Philippines, it was impossible to know the full extent of casualties and damage.
Southern Leyte governor Roger Mercado said the typhoon ripped roofs off houses and triggered landslides that blocked roads.
The dense clouds and heavy rains made the day seem almost as dark as night, he said.
“When you’re faced with such a scenario, you can only pray, and pray and pray,” Mercado said 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.”
In Vietnam, state media reported that several central provinces began evacuating some 300,000 people from high risk areas.
The typhoon was expected to make landfall in the central region early Sunday morning.