10,000 feared dead in Philippines by typhoon ‘Haiyan’

Manila – An estimated 10,000 people in central Philippine province of Leyte might have been killed by super typhoon ‘Haiyan’, media reported Sunday.

The figure was based on estimates of officials in Tacloban city, the worst hit capital of Leyte province, after a meeting Saturday night with the governor of Leyte, Xinhua cited from a report in local newspaper Inquirer, which quoted regional police chief Elmer Soria as saying.

The national government departments and disaster agency have not confirmed the figure yet.

“I don’t know how to describe what I saw. It’s horrific,” Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas, who flew to Tacloban city Saturday said.

The city became dark everywhere due to interruption of power supply, he added.

Roxas admitted the government found it difficult to give an accurate count of the extent of casualties after communication lines in hard-hit areas were cut off.

A team of 120 police has been sent to Tacloban city, as reports said looting occurred in the city.

Experts were flown to the storm ravaged areas of the Phillippines to assess the situation there, The Independent reported.

“The last time I saw something of this scale was in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami,” the daily quoted Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, head of the UN Disaster Assessment Coordination Team sent to Tacloban, as saying.

The category 5 super typhoon hit the Philippines Friday morning with winds up to 275 kph triggering major landslides and forcing 800,000 people to flee their homes. About four million people were affected by the typhoon, the Philippines national disaster agency said.