Scenes of "apocalyptic destruction" after super Typhoon Haiyan
YAHOO!7 and agencies November 11, 2013, 9:20 am<object id="flashObj" classid="clsid
<embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=2826771448001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fau.news.yahoo.com%2Fworld%2Fa%2F19770708%2Fscenes-of-apocalyptic-destruction-after-super-typhoon-haiyan%2F&playerID=2513628634001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAACKW9LH8k~,A7HfECo5t7DrAeaToOVr5sEdpPjJEcCi&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="270" width="480"></object>
Tormented survivors of Philippine typhoon raid the deadTormented survivors of Philippine typhoon raid the dead
An Australian aid worker on the ground in Cebu in the Philippines has described the scene following super typhoon Haiyan as one of "apocalyptic destruction".
There are fears the death toll from the typhoon that has destroyed entire towns could soar well over 10,000, making it the country's worst recorded natural disaster.
The typhoon sent tsunami-like waves and merciless winds rampaging across a huge chunk of the archipelago on Friday.
Sandra Bulling from Care Australia described scenes of utter devastation.
"It's a mess of apocalyptic destruction," she told Fairfax radio on Monday.<object id="flashObj" classid="clsid
<embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=2826506100001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fau.news.yahoo.com%2Fworld%2Fa%2F19770708%2Fscenes-of-apocalyptic-destruction-after-super-typhoon-haiyan%2F&playerID=2513628634001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAACKW9LH8k~,A7HfECo5t7DrAeaToOVr5sEdpPjJEcCi&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="270" width="480"></object>
She said aid agencies were also hearing figures of a death toll of more than 10,000 but this could rise.
"It's so difficult to get a full picture but villages are totally cut off," she said.
"But what's more tragic is the number of people who are affected, it's over nine million at the moment. And these are the people that have lost their loved ones, who have lost their livelihoods, who have lost their houses, who are desperate for any help at the moment."<object id="flashObj" classid="clsid
<embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=2825048640001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fau.news.yahoo.com%2Fworld%2Fa%2F19770708%2Fscenes-of-apocalyptic-destruction-after-super-typhoon-haiyan%2F&playerID=2513628634001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAACKW9LH8k~,A7HfECo5t7DrAeaToOVr5sEdpPjJEcCi&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="270" width="480"></object>
Typhoon survivors forced to steal from the dead
Tormented survivors of a typhoon that is feared to have killed more than 10,000 in the Philippines rummaged for food Sunday through debris scattered with corpses, while frenzied mobs looted aid convoys.
Two days after one of the most powerful storms ever recorded flattened entire towns across part of the Southeast Asian archipelago, desperate survival tactics created fresh horrors.
On the outskirts of Tacloban, a coastal eastern city of 220,000 where tsunami-like waves destroyed many buildings, Edward Gualberto accidentally stepped on bodies as he raided the wreckage of a home.
Wearing nothing but a pair of red basketball trousers, the father-of-four and village councillor apologised for his shabby appearance and for stealing from the dead.
Empty coffins lie on a street near houses damaged after super Typhoon Haiyan battered Tacloban city. Photo: Reuters.
"I am a decent person. But if you have not eaten in three days, you do shameful things to survive," Gualberto told AFP as he dug canned goods from the debris and flies swarmed over the bodies.
"We have no food, we need water and other things to survive."
After half a day's work, he had filled a bag with an assortment of essentials including packs of spaghetti, cans of beer, detergent, soap, canned goods, biscuits and candies.
"This typhoon has stripped us of our dignity... but I still have my family and I am thankful for that."
Elsewhere in Tacloban, other survivors were employing more aggressive means as they took advantage of a security vacuum created when most of the city's police force failed to turn up for work after the typhoon.
A boy who was wounded by flying debris due to Super Typhoon Haiyan stays at the ruins of his family's house. Photo: Reuters.
Like Gualberto, many said they had not eaten since the typhoon and overwhelmed authorities admitted they were unable to get enough relief supplies into the city.
Some broke through shops that had withstood the typhoon by hammering through glass windows and winching open steel barricades.
One desperate meat shop owner brandished a handgun in a failed bid to prevent one mob from entering his shop.
<object id="flashObj" classid="clsid
<embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=2825308170001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fau.news.yahoo.com%2Fworld%2Fa%2F19770708%2Fscenes-of-apocalyptic-destruction-after-super-typhoon-haiyan%2F&playerID=2513628634001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAACKW9LH8k~,A7HfECo5t7DrAeaToOVr5sEdpPjJEcCi&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="270" width="480"></object>
He was ignored and the shop was ransacked. The businessman just silently stood by, waving his gun in the air and shouting. When he realised he had lost the fight, he cursed them and walked away.
Nearby, pastry shop owner Emma Bermejo described the widespread looting as "anarchy."
"There is no security personnel, relief goods are too slow to arrive. People are dirty, hungry and thirsty. A few more days and they will begin to kill each other," she said.
"This is shameful. We have been hit by a catastrophe and now our businesses are gone. Looted. I can understand if they take our food and water, they can have it. But TV sets? Washing machines?"
Typhoon Haiyan is pictured from the International Space Station on November 9, 2013, taken by astronaut Karen Nyberg courtesy of NASA. Photo: Reuters.
Philippine Red Cross chairman Richard Gordon described some of the looters as "mobsters", after one of his organisation's convoys was ransacked near Tacloban.
Meanwhile, confused men, women and children walked aimlessly along roads strewn with overturned cars and felled power lines, some gagging from the stench of rotting flesh.
A team of military cadaver collectors had been deployed, but the soldiers appeared overwhelmed.
<object id="flashObj" classid="clsid
<embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=2825298581001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fau.news.yahoo.com%2Fworld%2Fa%2F19770708%2Fscenes-of-apocalyptic-destruction-after-super-typhoon-haiyan%2F&playerID=2513628634001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAACKW9LH8k~,A7HfECo5t7DrAeaToOVr5sEdpPjJEcCi&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="270" width="480"></object>
"There are six trucks going around the city picking up the dead, but it's not enough," said the driver of one of the vehicles as it wended its way through the streets.
"There are bodies everywhere, we do not have enough people to get to them."
Some survivors handed out small letters to passers-by and reporters asking them to contact their relatives to relay their fate.
Thousands of homes are destroyed after super Typhoon Haiyan battered Tacloban city. Photo: Reuters.
Many had wounds on their faces and were limping, while all had stories of unimaginable horror.
"The huge waves came again and again, flushing us out on the street and washing away our homes," Mirasol Saoyi, 27, told AFP near the city's seaside sports stadium that withstood the typhoon and where thousand of people had gathered.
"My husband tied us together, but still we got separated among the debris. I saw many people drowning, screaming and going under... I haven't found my husband."
A fishing boat which slammed into damaged houses lie atop debris after super Typhoon Haiyan. Photo: Reuters.
Melbourne family fearing the worst as travelling daughter goes silent
The father of 28-year-old Melbourne woman Maiko "Michelle" Reimann says he is fearing the worst after he lost contact with his daughter following the deadly Typhoon Haiyan.
Werner Reimann last heard from his daughter in the tense hours leading up to the typhoon on Friday.
"Before it hit she sent a text message to her mother," he said.
Maiko "Michelle" Reimann hasn't been in touch with her family since before the deadly typhoon hit. Photo: Facebook.
"We sent one back saying go to the highest building.
"I hope she's OK but it would be nice to be sure."
<object id="flashObj" classid="clsid
<embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=2826502843001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fau.news.yahoo.com%2Fworld%2Fa%2F19770708%2Fscenes-of-apocalyptic-destruction-after-super-typhoon-haiyan%2F&playerID=2513628634001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAACKW9LH8k~,A7HfECo5t7DrAeaToOVr5sEdpPjJEcCi&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="270" width="480"></object>
Defrocked Australian priest among dead after super typhoon
A former Sydney priest who secretly married a woman he met in the Philippines is among the hundreds killed in the typhoon that has devastated the archipelago nation.
Kevin Lee, a whistleblower on child sex abuse in the Catholic church, was defrocked last year after he went public about his 2011 marriage and admitted to having had girlfriends during his 20 years as a priest.
Mr Lee founded the Padre Pio parish in Glenmore Park, in western Sydney, but moved to the Philippines after leaving the ministry.
It's been reported he went swimming as part of a religious ritual, as Super Typhoon Haiyan lashed the Philippines with winds of around 315km/h.
On Sunday the Bishop of Parramatta, Anthony Fisher, paid tribute to the late father and husband.
"I extend my deepest sympathy to his widow Josefina and her children during this time of personal tragedy for them and devastation for the people of the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan," he said.
He also expressed his condolences to Mr Lee's parents and family in Australia and paid tribute to the work Mr Lee did for his parish.
<object id="flashObj" classid="clsid
<embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=2826667767001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fau.news.yahoo.com%2Fworld%2Fa%2F19770708%2Fscenes-of-apocalyptic-destruction-after-super-typhoon-haiyan%2F&playerID=2513628634001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAACKW9LH8k~,A7HfECo5t7DrAeaToOVr5sEdpPjJEcCi&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="270" width="480"></object>
