Published 11 years ago, updated 6 years ago

Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever recorded, struck the Philippines last Friday. More than 12 million people were at risk from the storm, including in Cebu, the country’s second largest city. Up to 10,000 are said to have died in Tacloban city and hundreds elsewhere. Hundreds of thousands are displaced.

12 November: See Cruiser’s Report from Port Carmen, Cebu Island, Visayas.

Update posted Monday 11 November, 2013

The authorities in the Philippines are struggling to bring relief to some of the areas worst affected by Typhoon Haiyan. Thousands of troops have been deployed to the disaster zones and military cargo planes are flying in supplies. However, rescuers are hampered by debris and damaged roads.

Typhoon Haiyan has now made landfall in Vietnam, near the tourist destination of Ha Long Bay, but as a much reduced Category One, with sustained winds of up to 140 km/h (85mph).

Regular contributors to noonsite, Sue and John Woods of MV Solita, are berthed in Port Carmen, situated on the eastern side of Cebu Island, in the centre of the Visayan Island group. It is approximately 30 miles north of Cebu City. They told noonsite on Friday;

“We tied Solita down as best we could and evacuated on Thursday afternoon, as the path of the typhoon was to go through Bogo, just 30 miles north of Pt Carmen, where were are. All the boats in the yards and inlet were well-prepared, tied down and tied across the inlet. We went to a concrete-walled hotel In Danao, about 10 kms south and 3 kms inland. It felt quite safe there.

“The typhoon came through very quickly – we probably had the worst of the wind for 5 hours or so, on Friday morning. Luckily Solita and all the boats in Pt Carmen are fine with no major damage. A real credit to good preparation (and thanks to all the yard guys who tirelessly helped the yachtees), the tight inlet with levy banks, the barrier islands, a low tide at the time the typhoon passed and lack of a storm surge.”

Read the latest BBC Update here.

Storm News posted Friday 8 November, 2013

Weather officials said that Haiyan had sustained winds at 235 kilometres (147 miles) per hour, with gusts of 275 kph (170 mph) when it made landfall at Eastern Samar province’s Guiuan township.

The local weather bureau makes estimates based on longer periods of time than others, such as the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center, which said shortly before the typhoon made landfall that its maximum sustained winds were 314 kilometres per hour (195 mph), with gusts up to 379 kilometres per hour (235 mph).

“195-mile-per-hour winds, there aren’t too many buildings constructed that can withstand that kind of wind,” said Jeff Masters, a former hurricane meteorologist who is meteorology director at the private firm Weather Underground.

Masters said the storm had been poised to be the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded at landfall. He warned of “catastrophic damage.”

The typhoon — the 24th serious storm to hit the Philippines this year — is forecast to barrel through the Philippines’ central region Friday and Saturday before blowing toward the South China Sea over the weekend, heading toward Vietnam.