Eastern Samar Province in the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Yolanda, or Typhoon Hainan, on early Friday. The storm was located about 60 kilometers south of Guiuan with sustained winds of 235 kph.
Weather officials said that 21 areas are under storm signal No. 4, 13 under storm signal No. 3, 16 under storm signal No. 2, and eight under storm signal No. 1.
The storm signal number No. 4 affects Masbate, Ticao Island, Southern Sorsogon, Romblon, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Biliran Province, Northern Cebu, Cebu City, Bantayan Islands, Camotes Islands, Northern Negros Occidental, Capiz, Aklan, Antique, Iloilo, Guimaras, and Dinagat Island.
Storm signal No. 3 affects Siargao Island, Dinagat Province, Rest of Antique, Iloilo, Guimaras, Northern Negros Occidental, Northern Negros Oriental, Northern Cebu including Cebu City, Northern Samar, Bohol, Masbate, Ticao Island, Sorsogon, Romblon, and Calamian Group of Islands, according to Rappler.
“There will be catastrophic damage,” said Jeff Masters, a former hurricane meteorologist who is meteorology director at the private firm Weather Underground.
The U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii shortly before landfall said Typhoon Haiyan’s maximum sustained winds were 314 kilometers per hour (195 mph), with gusts up to 379 kilometers per hour (235 mph).
“195-mile-per-hour winds, there aren’t too many buildings constructed that can withstand that kind of wind,” Masters said.
The local weather bureau had a lower reading, saying the storm’s speed at landfall had sustained winds at 234 kilometers (145 miles) per hour, with gusts of 275 kph (170.88 mph). The bureau takes measures based on longer periods of time.
Thousands of people have evacuated villages in the typhoon’s path.
Typhoon Haiyan’s speed at landfall was expected to beat out Hurricane Camille, which was 305 kilometers per hour (190 mph) at landfall in the United States 1969, Masters said.
The only tiny bright side is that it’s a fast-moving storm, so flooding from heavy rain — which usually causes the most deaths from typhoons in the Philippines — may not be as bad, Masters said.
“The wind damage should be the most extreme in Phillipines history,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
