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| MANILA — Philippine officials struggled to respond Sunday to the vast trail of devastation left by Typhoon Haiyan, which unleashed its fury on a central Philippine city, likely taking thousands of lives, causing widespread destruction and leaving disorder and looting in its wake. | MANILA — Philippine officials struggled to respond Sunday to the vast trail of devastation left by Typhoon Haiyan, which unleashed its fury on a central Philippine city, likely taking thousands of lives, causing widespread destruction and leaving disorder and looting in its wake. |
| The typhoon Friday left the city of Tacloban in ruins, as a storm surge as high as 13 feet overwhelmed its streets, with reports from the scene saying most of the houses had been damaged or completely destroyed in the city of 220,000. More than 300 bodies have already been recovered, said Tecson Lim, the city administrator, adding that the toll could reach 10,000 in Tacloban alone. | The typhoon Friday left the city of Tacloban in ruins, as a storm surge as high as 13 feet overwhelmed its streets, with reports from the scene saying most of the houses had been damaged or completely destroyed in the city of 220,000. More than 300 bodies have already been recovered, said Tecson Lim, the city administrator, adding that the toll could reach 10,000 in Tacloban alone. |
| President Benigno S. Aquino III arrived Sunday in Tacloban to meet with some of the victims of the storm and to coordinate rescue and cleanup efforts. His defense secretary, Voltaire Gazmin, described a chaotic scene there. | President Benigno S. Aquino III arrived Sunday in Tacloban to meet with some of the victims of the storm and to coordinate rescue and cleanup efforts. His defense secretary, Voltaire Gazmin, described a chaotic scene there. |
| “There is no power, no water, nothing,” Mr. Gazmin said. “People are desperate. They’re looting.” | “There is no power, no water, nothing,” Mr. Gazmin said. “People are desperate. They’re looting.” |
| The lack of clear information about the extent of the damage raised the possibility that other areas could have been just as badly hit as Tacloban, where rescue efforts were being concentrated. | The lack of clear information about the extent of the damage raised the possibility that other areas could have been just as badly hit as Tacloban, where rescue efforts were being concentrated. |
| News reports from Tacloban told of how officials were unable to get an accurate assessment of the fatalities because law enforcement and government personnel could not be found after the storm, with Tacloban’s mayor, Alfred Romualdez, “holding onto his roof” before being rescued, according to the Daily Inquirer newspaper. | News reports from Tacloban told of how officials were unable to get an accurate assessment of the fatalities because law enforcement and government personnel could not be found after the storm, with Tacloban’s mayor, Alfred Romualdez, “holding onto his roof” before being rescued, according to the Daily Inquirer newspaper. |
| The typhoon began turning its deadly force Sunday toward central and northern Vietnam, where more than 500,000 people were evacuated even as meteorologists said the typhoon had begun weakening from the sustained winds of 190 miles an hour that it bought to the Philippines. But as it neared the mainland it turned northward, its eye skirting the Vietnamese coastline. | The typhoon began turning its deadly force Sunday toward central and northern Vietnam, where more than 500,000 people were evacuated even as meteorologists said the typhoon had begun weakening from the sustained winds of 190 miles an hour that it bought to the Philippines. But as it neared the mainland it turned northward, its eye skirting the Vietnamese coastline. |
| Aid efforts in the Philippines were complicated by the magnitude of the devastation, as communications systems were shut down by the storm. But already international aid agencies and foreign governments were rushing to dispatch emergency teams. | Aid efforts in the Philippines were complicated by the magnitude of the devastation, as communications systems were shut down by the storm. But already international aid agencies and foreign governments were rushing to dispatch emergency teams. |
| At the request of the Philippine government, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the deployment of ships and aircraft to bring in emergency supplies and help in the search-and-rescue operations, the Defense Department said. The United States Embassy in Manila made $100,000 immediately available for health and sanitation efforts, its Twitter feed said. A United Nations disaster assessment team was already on the ground. | At the request of the Philippine government, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the deployment of ships and aircraft to bring in emergency supplies and help in the search-and-rescue operations, the Defense Department said. The United States Embassy in Manila made $100,000 immediately available for health and sanitation efforts, its Twitter feed said. A United Nations disaster assessment team was already on the ground. |
| “The last time I saw something on this scale was in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami,” Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, the head of the team, said in a statement, referring to the 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of Indonesia and other countries. “This is destruction on a massive scale. There are cars thrown like tumbleweed.” | “The last time I saw something on this scale was in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami,” Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, the head of the team, said in a statement, referring to the 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of Indonesia and other countries. “This is destruction on a massive scale. There are cars thrown like tumbleweed.” |
| Mar Roxas, the Philippine interior minister, said that while relief supplies for Tacloban had already begun arriving, they could not leave the airport because debris was blocking the roads in the area. | Mar Roxas, the Philippine interior minister, said that while relief supplies for Tacloban had already begun arriving, they could not leave the airport because debris was blocking the roads in the area. |
| “The entire airport was under water up to roof level,” he said, according to the Daily Inquirer. | “The entire airport was under water up to roof level,” he said, according to the Daily Inquirer. |
| Photos and television footage from the affected areas showed fierce winds ripping tin roofs off homes and sending waves crashing into wooden buildings that splintered under the force. Large ships were tossed on shore, and vehicles were shown piled up on top of one another. Video footage from Tacloban showed ocean water rushing through the streets of the city, which is located about 360 miles southeast of Manila and is the capital of the province of Leyte. | Photos and television footage from the affected areas showed fierce winds ripping tin roofs off homes and sending waves crashing into wooden buildings that splintered under the force. Large ships were tossed on shore, and vehicles were shown piled up on top of one another. Video footage from Tacloban showed ocean water rushing through the streets of the city, which is located about 360 miles southeast of Manila and is the capital of the province of Leyte. |
| Robert S. Ziegler, the director general of the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños, Philippines, said that he was very concerned that the damage reports seemed to be mainly from the city of Tacloban and not from the many fishing communities that line the coast. | Robert S. Ziegler, the director general of the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños, Philippines, said that he was very concerned that the damage reports seemed to be mainly from the city of Tacloban and not from the many fishing communities that line the coast. |
| “The coastal areas can be quite vulnerable — in many cases, you have fishing communities right up to the shoreline, and they can be wiped out” by a powerful storm surge of the sort that hit Tacloban, he said. “The disturbing reports are the lack of reports, and the areas that are cut off could be quite severely hit.” | “The coastal areas can be quite vulnerable — in many cases, you have fishing communities right up to the shoreline, and they can be wiped out” by a powerful storm surge of the sort that hit Tacloban, he said. “The disturbing reports are the lack of reports, and the areas that are cut off could be quite severely hit.” |
| Located near Manila, the research institute, which is one of the world’s most famous agricultural research institutes, is far enough north that “all we experienced was some rain and some wind,” Mr. Ziegler said in a telephone interview. | Located near Manila, the research institute, which is one of the world’s most famous agricultural research institutes, is far enough north that “all we experienced was some rain and some wind,” Mr. Ziegler said in a telephone interview. |
| Video from Tacloban on ABS-CBN television showed widespread looting in Tacloban, with scores of people descending on stores and stuffing suitcases and bags with clothing and housewares. | Video from Tacloban on ABS-CBN television showed widespread looting in Tacloban, with scores of people descending on stores and stuffing suitcases and bags with clothing and housewares. |
| The extent of the damage and rising death toll threatened to make the typhoon the worst storm in Philippine history. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the deadliest storm in to hit the Philippines until now was Tropical Storm Thelma, which flooded the town of Ormoc, on Leyte Island, on Nov. 5, 1991, and killed more than 5,000 people. | |
| On Samar Island, which is across the Philippine Sea from Tacloban, Leo Dacaynos of the local disaster office put the local death toll from the typhoon at 300 people, and he said another 2,000 were missing, according to The Associated Press. | On Samar Island, which is across the Philippine Sea from Tacloban, Leo Dacaynos of the local disaster office put the local death toll from the typhoon at 300 people, and he said another 2,000 were missing, according to The Associated Press. |
| The Social Welfare and Development Office said the storm affected 4.28 million people in about 270 towns and cities spread across 36 provinces in the central Philippines. | The Social Welfare and Development Office said the storm affected 4.28 million people in about 270 towns and cities spread across 36 provinces in the central Philippines. |
Floyd Whaley reported from Manila, and Gerry Mullany from Hong Kong. Keith Bradsher contributed reporting from Hong Kong. | Floyd Whaley reported from Manila, and Gerry Mullany from Hong Kong. Keith Bradsher contributed reporting from Hong Kong. |
| This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | |
| Correction: November 10, 2013 | |
An earlier version of this article misstated the date that Tropical Storm Thelma hit the Philippines. It was on Nov. 5, 1991, not Nov. 15. |