'Worse than hell' in typhoon-ravaged Philippines

'Worse than hell' in typhoon-ravaged Philippines

By Andrew Stevens and Paula Hancocks, CNN

updated 12:43 AM EST, Mon November 11, 2013

 Tacloban, Philippines (CNN) -- As the Philippines faced a long, grim path to recovery in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, the storm plowed into northeastern Vietnam early Monday, packing powerful winds and forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate. Philippine authorities warned that the typhoon may have killed thousands there, leaving behind a trail of devastation on a scale they'd never seen before. No electricity. No food. No water. Houses and buildings leveled. Bodies scattered on the streets. Hospitals overrun with patients. Medical supplies running out. And a death toll that could soar.

 The Philippine Red Cross estimates that at least 1,200 people were killed by the storm, but that number could grow as officials make their way to remote areas made nearly inaccessible by Haiyan.

Others put the toll much higher: The International Committee of the Red Cross said it's realistic to estimate that 10,000 people may have died nationally. The grim task of counting the bodies was just beginning Monday as authorities sifted through the rubble of what was left behind in hard-hit cities like Tacloban on the island of Leyte. The official toll stood at 255 Monday, according to the country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

"I have not spoken to anyone who has not lost someone, a relative close to them. We are looking for as many as we can," Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez told CNN. 'This is really, really like bad'

Desperately needed aid was making its way into the storm-ravaged city of Tacloban on Monday. C-130 planes arrived, carrying food, water and supplies. Other planes left -- some of them carrying body bags with storm victims. A steady stream of typhoon survivors arrived at Tacloban airport, looking for food, water and escape.

 

A man reconstructs his house in the bay of Tacloban, Leyte province, Philippines, on Wednesday, November 27, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard on November 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction, including more than 5,000 deaths.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/10/world/asia/philippines-typhoon-haiyan/index.html