Typhoon Haiyan UPDATE

Recent news reports out of Tacloban, Philippines have been mixed. On one hand, death and destruction are everywhere and thousands are still waiting for help as Philippine and international aid are still on their way in some areas. There is good news though. Philippine President Benigno Aquino was interviewed today and lowered the estimated death count to 2,000 to 2,500. These numbers are far more encouraging than the 10,000 people that were estimated to have died in Tacloban alone after last weeks typhoon.

The path of the storm ripped through the Philippines and traveled all the way into Vietnam late last week. It was one of the most powerful storms ever recorded. Military aircraft and ships from the United States and the United Kingdom are on their way as we speak. Hundreds of thousands are without food, water, or shelter. In fact, there is little information about about the more rural communities that were affected by the storm because it is so difficult to get into those areas and the government has been working to aid those heavily populated areas that were hit hardest. These people need help now. Hopefully more international aid will continue to come into the area over these next few days, or weeks, or months. Some areas have been completely demolished and will take years to build up these areas once again. We just have to be glad that forecasting predicted this storm so accurately and the death toll is not as high as previously estimated because of that.

Sources:

http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/western-pacific/2013/Tropical-Storm-Haiyan?MR=1

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-typhoon-haiyan-philippines-20131112,0,4089787.story