Death toll after Philippines typhoon could reach 10,000, according to local officials

[mad cow]

Authorities expect a “very high number of fatalities” after one of the strongest typhoons on record devastated the central Philippines, cutting communications and severely damaging an airport in one of the hardest-hit regions.

A senior regional police official and a city administrator in the typhoon-ravaged city of Tacloban in the central Philippines said early Sunday that the death toll there could reach 10,000 people, according to the Associated Press.

Regional police chief Elmer Soria said he was briefed by Leyte provincial Gov. Dominic Petilla on Saturday and told there were about 10,000 deaths on the island, mostly by drowning and from collapsed buildings.

Tacloban city administrator Tecson Lim said that the death toll in the city alone "could go up to 10,000."

More at link:http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/11/09/strongest-typhoon-year-hits-philippines/

Early reports,but it is sounding really bad.

 

[James Madison]

This is just the beginning. The real death toll will come from the loss of sanitation in all likelihood.

 

[Tinnuhana]

http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2013/11/10/1254977/editorial-improving-preparedness
This is an editorial about disaster preparedness from a Filipino website. This was a bad one from the start. It was scary to even look at the satellite photos. And typhoons generally don't get that response from me, having been through my share of Cat 5s here where everything is built to take high winds and multiple small earthquakes. It's too bad it didn't track north and hit us instead. Nah...not this one.
This is like the tsunami a few years back. Hard to get your mind around so much devastation. Sorry for the ramble.

 

[MelissaWV]

They will honestly never know. Census data can't be too accurate, and a lot of those bodies are just gone now... out to sea.

Sometimes there's just no amount of preparation that can help.

On Samar Island, which is facing Tacloban, Leo Dacaynos of the provincial disaster office said Sunday that 300 people were confirmed dead in Basey town and another 2,000 are missing.

He said that the storm surge caused sea waters to rise 20 feet when Typhoon Haiyan hit Friday, before crossing to Tacloban.

 

[donnay]

How very sad. I pray they get some relief.

 

[fr33]

Terrible.

 

[Tinnuhana]

Well, this place will be a ghost town for a couple of weeks as all the cargo planes will be heading down there with stuff.
That's the good news.
The bad news is...

http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/warnings/wp9013.gif

There's another one forming just behind it.

 

[devil21]

How very sad. I pray they get some relief.

Have no fear. Obama has already pledged to take money from you and give it to them. Minus some administrative fees, of course.

 

[James Madison]

Have no fear. Obama has already pledged to take money from you and give it to them. Minus some administrative fees, of course.

Just send in Michelle. She looks pretty manly.

 

[devil21]

Cue Bill Clinton and George HW Bush to push their charity.

It's a terrible disaster and people should donate if they want but Haiti shows that most of the "aid" collected never gets to the people affected.

 

[FindLiberty]

Sadness, it can't be undone. I hope rescue/recovery efforts go well.

 

[mrsat_98]

Have no fear. Obama has already pledged to take money from you and give it to them. Minus some administrative fees, of course.

Thank State, we are here to take it from.

 

[osan]

Just send in Michelle. She looks pretty manly.

Her face would scare the weather away. Permanently.

 

[eproxy100]

That 10000 figure is an exaggeration. The philippine government just wants to rake in donations.

 

[fr33]

That 10000 figure is an exaggeration. The philippine government just wants to rake in donations.

Source?