(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) One of the strongest storms on record has killed more than 100 people and injured another 100 in the central Philippines before sweeping west toward Vietnam on Saturday, still packing destructive winds capable of blowing away houses and uprooting trees.
Capt. John Andrews, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, said he had received "reliable information" from his staff describing the death and destruction Typhoon Haiyan wrecked in Tacloban city on Leyte Island, about 580 kilometers (360 miles) southwest of Manila, where the storm made landfall Friday. He said that more than 100 bodies were lying in the streets and another 100 were injured.
The Philippine television station GMA reported its news team saw 11 bodies, including that of a child, washed ashore Friday and 20 more bodies at a pier in Tacloban hours after the typhoon ripped through the coastal city. At least 20 more bodies were taken to a church in nearby Palo town that was used as an evacuation center but had to be abandoned when its roofs were blown away, the TV network reported.
TV images showed howling winds peeling off tin roof sheets during heavy rain. Ferocious winds felled large branches and snapped coconut trees. A man was shown carrying the body of his 6-year-old daughter who drowned, and another image showed vehicles piled up in debris. Nearly 800,000 people were forced to flee their homes and damage was believed to be extensive. Weather officials said Haiyan had sustained winds of 235 kph (147 mph) with gusts of 275 kph (170 mph) when it made landfall.
By those measurements, Haiyan would be comparable to a strong Category 4 hurricane in the U.S., nearly in the top category, a 5. The typhoon's sustained winds weakened Saturday to 175 kph (109 mph) with gusts of up to 210 kph (131 mph) as it blew farther away from the Philippines toward Vietnam. In Vietnam, state media reported that several central provinces began evacuating some 300,000 people from high risk areas. The typhoon was expected to make landfall in the central region early Sunday morning.
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