China's National Meteorological Centre (NMC) has raised the warning for Typhoon Haiyan to red, the highest level, after the storm wreaked havoc in the Philippines and killed an estimated 10,000 people.
Haiyan, the strongest tropical cyclone to ever make land and "the 4th strongest tropical cyclone in world history" according to meteorology expert Dr Jeff Masters, is turning northwest from the Philippines toward Vietnam and southern China.
The devastation in Vietnam and China is likely to be much less than in the Philippines, NMC experts said the force of Haiyan is weakening though the storm remains a danger to the population of Hainan, Guangdong, and Guangxi. In Vietnam, over 600,000 people have been evacuated ahead of the storm. Around 250 flights were delayed or cancelled at Hainan airports on Sunday, Guangdong-Hainan train-ferry services were also suspended.
In the Philippines, the scale of destruction wrought by Haiyan is just coming into view. Tacloban, a city of 220,000 people, was almost completely destroyed by the storm, which sent waves of up to four metres (13 feet) through the city.
"We had a meeting last night with the governor and, based on the government's estimates, initially there are 10,000 casualties [dead]," Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria told reporters. "About 70 to 80 per cent of the houses and structures along the typhoon's path were destroyed."
The storm's severity has severely hampered rescue efforts across the effected areas. According to CNN, attempts to get food to survivors is being delayed by debris blocking airports and roads; communication networks are down across the region.
[Images: Japan Meteorological Agency, Joint Typhoon Warning Centre, NOAA]
0 User Comments