Death Toll From Typhoon In Phillipines Up To 1,200 And Is Expected To Rise

The Red Cross estimates that up to 1,200 people died in the Philippines as the country reels from Typhoon Haiyan.

Powerful storm surges rushed through the streets of Tacloban City Saturday morning.

As communication systems get back online, more reports of casualties are coming in.

An official from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said more than 100 bodies were found lying in the streets of one hard hit city.

The death toll is expected to rise as more information becomes available.

Filipinos in the city are hoping for the best after the strongest typhoon of the year slammed into the Philippines, forcing almost 750,000 people from their homes.

Officials say Typhoon Haiya was packing winds of nearly 150 miles per hour and gusts up to 170, comparable to a strong Category 4 hurricane in the U.S.

The storm has triggered flooding, landslides, and lightning strikes across the country’s central islands.

Some of the most strongly affected areas include regions still recovering from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake last month.

But officials say the Philippines appeared to avoid a major disaster because the storm was moving so fast.

Locally, parishioners at St. Sebastian’s on Woodside Avenue in Queens prayed for loved ones back home.

“Very scared and very lonely our whole country is very poor. They cannot sleep, they’re in tent,” said one Filipino New Yorker.

Edicel Lazo, a teacher at St. Sebastian’s school, was trying to be patient as she waited for word from loved ones. She said she is hopeful the country pulls through because Filipinos are used to being ravaged by major storms but worries because communications are down.

“I am so frustrated. I don’t know what’s going on. I have the Filipino channel at home and I’m here I can’t wait to go home and see, what’s really happening,” Lazo said. “They are very God loving people and will look to the positive side after a devastation like this. They always try to get up, move on.”

The typhoon is now moving away from the Philippines on a path toward Southeast Asia.

NEWS – NY1

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