There is weather, and then there is really bad weather

[bfunk13]

I attended a wedding in Tacloban 2 years ago. Beautiful town and beaches & resorts. That city took a direct hit with the worst of the wind and storm surge,at least 1000 DEAD so far and the city of 280000 people is pretty much wrecked,some parts leveled. Sad
My relatives in Cebu (2.5 Million )fared a lot better as they were south of the worst of the destruction. No word from them so far.

My wife is in Cebu as well, she said they were not hit too hard. Hopefully they are ok.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

My wife is in Cebu as well, she said they were not hit too hard. Hopefully they are ok.

So far it seems like ceby city dodged a bullet (this time).
Cebu,s northern tip took the brunt of the storm.l Lots of resorts and seaside homes and villages there. Bohol got hit pretty hard too. Death toll in Tacloban is rising fast 10,000 Plus. The city was practically leveled with a 21Ft storm surge and high winds for hours.

 

[begreen]

This is turning out much worse than even I feared and expected. Coastal low area habitation is no longer safe in hurricane/typhoon zones.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Just got a message from someone in the area trying to help,said while walking to the airport from the coast had to literally walk over bodies to get there.
Tens of thousands of survivors in desperation,injured,homeless,hungry,thirsty., The city as i remember it is gone. Looks just like hiroshima after the bomb. Surrounded by water on 3 sides ,most died from drowning in the storm surge and injury from flying and floating debris.

 

[begreen]

This is very sad. I saw some of the aerial shots of Tacloban. It is destroyed. They should leave it as a memorial and rebuild on higher ground.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

This is very sad. I saw some of the aerial shots of Tacloban. It is destroyed. They should leave it as a memorial and rebuild on higher ground.

Probably not going to happen that way. Id say use this storm as a benchmark for building forward. 2 story concrete structures within x kilometers from the water. Evacuation centers,saved a lot of people. Better early warning systems and MANDATORY evacuation plans would have saved many more. Those nipa huts with the loosely fitted tin roofs dont fare well in a storm like this,and become killing missiles in the wind.

 

[begreen]

If you look at waterside Hilo you see that they turned most of the area into a large memorial park after a huge tsunami wiped out thousands. I was thinking the same thing here. The storms are going to get worse and sea levels are rising. They should rebuild stronger, higher and inland.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

The PI is not big on Zoning and building standards. Lots of poor left over from 20 + years of marcos who took the country from 27% poverty level to 77%. Many people living on a few dollars a day fishing,farming and anything they can find. Many of these people do own their own little plot of land but just dont have the bucks to do more than nipa hut with a tin roof. About all the govt is able to do is provide Evac shelters and escape plans when the inevitable happens. Nothing really survived this event intact,not expensive homes or govt buildings or resort hotels.

 

[Doug MacIVER]

 

[begreen]

Australian news coverage has been pretty good.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-...-haiyan-as-thousands-feared-dead-in-p/5081990

 

[begreen]

Leyte looks like the aftermath of a nuclear bomb. At least there are also some good stories coming out.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tel-doors-just-typhoon-destroys-building.html