Legazpi in Albay Province, Philippines was hit by Typhoon Haiyan on Friday, wreaking devestation on the coastal town.
Photos show debris littering the streets as well as a house that was carried out to sea.
Typhoon Haiyan raced across a string of islands from east to west — Samar, Leyte, Cebu and Panay — and lashed beach communities. Nearly 750,000 people were forced to flee their homes.
Weather officials said Haiyan had sustained winds of 235 kph (147 mph) with gusts of 275 kph (170 mph) when it made landfall. That makes it the world’s strongest typhoon this year, said Aldczar Aurelio of the government’s weather bureau.
Because of cut-off communications, it was impossible to know the full extent of casualties and damage. At least two people were electrocuted in storm-related accidents, one person was killed by a fallen tree and another was struck by lightning, official reports said. Media reports early Saturday indicated that over 30 people died across the Philippines.
Eduardo del Rosario, head of the disaster response agency, said a powerful typhoon that also hit the central Philippines in 1990 killed 508 people and left 246 missing, but this time authorities had ordered pre-emptive evacuation and other measures to minimize casualties.
He said the speed at which the typhoon sliced through the central islands — 40 kph (25 mph) — helped prevent its 600-kilometer (375-mile) band of rain clouds from dumping enough of their load to overflow waterways. Flooding from heavy rains is often the main cause of deaths from typhoons.
“It has helped that the typhoon blew very fast in terms of preventing lots of casualties,” regional military commander Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda said. He said the massive evacuation of villagers--including in Legazpi--before the storm also saved many lives. Bagumbayan Elementary School was made into an evacuation zone.
A blackout hit the city prior to Typhoon Yolanda hitting the town, with many parts of the city being plunged into darkness around 3 a.m., reported radio dzBB. Official damage reports from the city haven’t emerged yet. But as of 8:00 p.m., no casualties have been reported in the Bicol Region due to the typhoon, saif Camp General Simeon. Personnel were helping pack bags of rice to distribute to evacuees at the Albay Astrodome.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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