Nicole Schafer
The Paw Print
Typhoon Haiyen caused a disturbance that has echoed across the world – a level of devastation never before seen. A category 1 storm that possessed winds of 85 mph hit near Ha Long Bay.
Haiyan hit the eastern seaboard of the Philippines on Friday and quickly barreled across its central islands, containing winds of 147 mph that gusted up to 170 mph, and a storm surge of 20 feet.
In the Philippines, authorities warned that the typhoon may have killed thousands there, leaving behind a trail of death on a scale they’d never seen before: no electricity, no food, no water, houses leveled, and bodies scattered on the streets. Hospitals were overrun with patients with medical supplies running out.
This disaster that is bringing many countries together to bring Philippines aid. Obama said, “The United States is already providing significant humanitarian assistance, and we stand ready to further assist the Government’s relief and recovery efforts. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the millions of people affected by this devastating storm.”
It is reported that about 4 million were affected by this disaster including at least 1,200 deaths. About 200 police officers were sent into Tacloban to restore law and order.
The U.N. group is gathering it’s resources to feed approximately 120,000 people and it is estimated that upwards of 10,000 deaths could have occurred because there are some places that are unreachable by aid organizations.
Haiyan may be the strongest tropical cyclone in recorded history, but meteorologists said it will take further analysis to confirm whether it set a record. The typhoon was 3.5 times more forceful than Hurricane Katrina, which hit the United States in 2005.
It wasn’t the storm’s 250-kph (155-mph) gusts that caused most of the damage — it was a mammoth storm surge that reached up to 5 meters (16 feet) high. Information courtesy of CNN.
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