The super typhoon known as Haiyan made its way through the Philippines on Friday, blowing through 36 provinces and featuring winds of over 235 miles per hour. Due to a loss of power in the region, it’s been difficult to assess the damage, but multiple reports confirm the death toll has topped 10,000. Moreover, officials estimate that 70 percent of the structures in some areas have been destroyed. Typhoon Haiyan Kills Thousands in the Philippines “People are walking like zombies looking for food,” Jenny Chu, a medical student in Leyte, told Reuters. “It’s like a movie.” Edgar Boco, the mayor of coastal town Hernani, told reporters of a “mass grave for 57 people” that residents of his region have made, as aid continues to be brought in from various parts of the globe. Around 80 marines from the Third Marine Expeditionary Brigade – stationed in Okinawa, Japan – are on the way we we type, bringing with them two KC-130 aircraft, communications gear and equipment. Philippine Interior Secretary Mar Roxas compared the ferocity of the typhoon to a tsunami, taking out everything in its path. “From a helicopter, you can see the extent of devastation. From the shore and moving a kilometer inland, there are no structures standing. It was like a tsunami,” he also told Reuters. “I don’t know how to describe what I saw. It’s horrific.” Haiyan is now headed towards Vietnam and is expected to make landfall there on Monday.
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Typhoon Haiyan Death Toll Tops 10,000 in the Philippines
