Haiyan's winds, storm surges kill thousands in Philippines
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E-mail Xinhua, November 11, 2013
The Philippine National Red Cross estimated the death toll at 1, 200. But it said there was no actual body count of those who have died since some of the dead were buried in mass graves.
Aside from Tacloban City, other coastal towns in Leyte and nearby provinces in the island of Panay, also in central Philippines, have been devastated and thousands could have died in these areas. "This is destruction on a massive scale. The last time I saw something of this scale was in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami,"Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, head of a UN disaster assessment coordination team who visited Tacloban City, was quoted as saying in a report. The UN official was referring to the 2004 disaster that claimed about 220,000 lives.
In a quick visit to Tacloban City on Sunday, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said he was overwhelmed by the devastation. He ordered all government agencies, including the military, to intensify search and rescue operations and to restore knocked-down communications and power lines in the affected areas.
In the aftermath of the"monster typhoon,"there has been an outpouring of sympathy for the victims and their relatives.
In a statement of condolences, Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said "We are deeply saddened to learn of the massive destruction caused by Super Typhoon Yolanda. We would like to express our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the victims and the families that have suffered immense losses of lives and properties."
"We sincerely hope for speedy recovery in the affected areas and the disaster victims will be able to overcome this challenge and rebuild their homes soon".
In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said"On behalf of the people of the United States, I offer our deepest condolences and solidarity as you wrestle with the devastation and loss of life that accompanied super typhoon Haiyan."
Pope Francis sent his love and sympathy for the victims of the typhoon.
"I ask all of you to join me in prayer for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan or Yolanda especially those in the beloved islands of the Philippines," the Pope said in his tweet.
European Union Ambassador Guy Ledoux also expressed his solidarity with the Filipinos and announced humanitarian teams and relief packages were on their way to affected areas.
The British Embassy said Sunday that the United Kingdom will be sending up to 6 million British pounds or about 414 million pesos in additional aid for humanitarian efforts. This tops an earlier aid of 4 million pounds or 276 million pesos set for emergency responses on the Zamboanga City violence and Bohol earthquake.
The United Nations World Food Programme meanwhile released 2 million U.S. dollars, or about 86 million pesos, and vowed to appeal for more funds to help feed thousands of families affected by typhoon"Haiyan". "Haiyan"was one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded in the world, and was the Philippines'24th tropical typhoon of the year, exceeding the annual average.
Among the deadliest typhoons to hit the Philippines in recent years were tropical storm"Thelma" that unleashed flashfloods on in Ormoc City, also in the island of Leyte, on Nov. 15, 1991, killing more than 5,100; typhoon "Bopha" that smashed the southern island of Mindanao on Dec. 3, 2012 killing about 1,900 people; typhoon " Ike" that killed 1,363 people in Central Philippines on Aug. 31, 1984; and typhoon "Washi" that hit the northern part of Mindanao on Dec. 16, 2011, killing at least 1,080 people.
