The death toll from one of the strongest storms on record that ravaged the Philippines could reach 10,000 people, officials said Sunday after the extent of massive devastation became apparent.
Typhoon Haiyan, which is known in the Philippines as Typhoon Yolanda, is one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded. Typhoon Haiyan caused widespread devastation in the Philippines, particularly on Samar Island and Leyte, where at least 10,000 people were feared to have died in the city of Tacloban (Pop. 221,174).
The thirtieth named storm, thirteenth typhoon, and fifth super-typhoon of the 2013 Pacific typhoon season, Haiyan originated as an area of low pressure east-southeast of Pohnpei in the western Pacific Ocean on November 2.
Deadly Typhoon Haiyan is now hitting the Philippines where it has knocked out power and destroyed homes. Host Matt Sampson and Hurricane Specialist Dr. Greg Postel explain. Click here to get the latest updates.
Residents in the Philippines were assessing the damage caused by the one of the strongest storms on record.
View Larger Map of Tocloban, Philippines.
After tropical storm became a tropical storm and attained the name Haiyan at 0000 UTC on November 4, the storm began a period of rapid intensification that brought it to typhoon intensity by 1800 UTC on November 5. With an expanding and deepening central dense clouds a and clear eye visible on satellite, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) upgraded Haiyan to a super typhoon, which is a typhoon involving maximum sustained winds attain 240 km/h (150 mph) or greater, early on November 6, 2013. After entering PAGASA’s region of responsibility, the JTWC upgraded Haiyan to a Category 5 equivalent on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.
PAGASA is the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration — a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, etc.