UPDATE: Super Typhoon Haiyan

10,000 feared killed in Philippines by super typhoon Haiyan

An estimated 10,000 people might have been killed in the central Philippine province of Leyte alone, which was almost completely destroyed by the powerful typhoon Haiyan, local authorities said

RT,

9 November, 2013

The typhoon has devastated up to 80 percent of the Leyte province area as it ripped through the Philippines, Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria told Reuters.

“We had a meeting last night with the governor and other officials. The governor said based on their estimate, 10,000 died,” Soria said.

Most of the dead drowned or were killed by collapsed buildings, authorities say. Tacloban city administrator Tecson Lim told AP that the death toll in Leyte province city alone "could go up to 10,000."

Police have been deployed to patrol the ruins of Tacloban to prevent looting as desperate residents look for food and water, said Philippine Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, describing the situation as “horrific.”

"The dead are on the streets, they are in their houses, they are under the debris, they are everywhere," said Lim, adding that only about 400 bodies have been recovered so far.

The Red Cross said earlier that 1,200 people we confirmed dead in the Philippines.

Roxas said earlier on Saturday that it was too soon to announce any final figures.

Survivors assess the damage after super Typhoon Haiyan battered Tacloban city, central Philippines November 9, 2013 (Reuters)Survivors assess the damage after super Typhoon Haiyan battered Tacloban city, central Philippines November 9, 2013 (Reuters)

"The rescue operation is ongoing. We expect a very high number of fatalities as well as injured," Roxas told AP. "All systems, all vestiges of modern living — communications, power, water — all are down. Media is down, so there is no way to communicate with the people in a mass sort of way."

The storm weakened on Saturday after moving away from the Philippines toward Vietnam.

Vietnamese authorities meanwhile evacuated over 500,000 people to safer areas in preparation for the tumult which is forecast to make a landfall on Sunday afternoon.