Officials are now estimating that as many as 10,000 deaths may have been caused in the Philippines by the landfall of one of the most powerful storms on record, Super Typhoon Haiyan. Wind gusts were measured up to 195 mph, and the storm's reach extended over a thousand miles as it approached the Philippines last Friday. The extent of the devastation is still being assessed by humanitarian groups, but all measures so far indicate a historic level of damage, requiring millions in aid and years for recovery.
Super Typhoon Haiyan Devastates the Philippines
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A boy who was wounded by flying debris due to Super Typhoon Haiyan stays at the ruins of his family's house in Tacloban city, on November 10, 2013. Haiyan destroyed about 70 to 80 percent of the area in its path as it tore through Leyte province on Friday, said chief superintendent Elmer Soria, a regional police director. #
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An aerial photo shows uprooted coconut trees on a hill near the town of Guiuan in Eastern Samar province in the central Philippines, on November 11, 2013 only days after Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated the town on November 8. #
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An aerial image taken from a Philippine Air Force helicopter shows the devastation caused by typhoon Haiyan in Guiuan, on November 11, 2013. Authorities said at least 2 million people in 41 provinces had been affected by Friday's disaster and at least 23,000 houses had been damaged or destroyed. #
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Newborn baby Bea Joy is held as mother Emily Ortega, 21, rests after giving birth at an improvised clinic at Tacloban airport, on November 11, 2013. Bea Joy was named after her grandmother Beatrice, who was missing following the onslaught of typhoon Haiyan. Ortega was in an evacuation center when the storm surge hit and flooded the city. She had to swim to survive before finding safety at the airport. #
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Jessamere Enriquez, 14, helps her mother inform their family in Manila of their situation using Facebook at a free internet kiosk provided by an internet service provider after Haiyan battered Tacloban city, on November 11, 2013. Due to the scarcity of resources, each person was allowed only 3 minutes of use. #
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Destroyed houses along the water in the town of Guiuan in Eastern Samar province, on November 11, 2013 only days after Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated the town on November 8. #
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Residents queue up to receive treatment and relief supplies at Tacloban airport, on November 11, 2013, following Friday's typhoon. Typhoon-ravaged Philippine islands faced an unimaginably huge recovery effort that had barely begun Monday, as bloated bodies lay uncollected and uncounted in the streets and survivors pleaded for food, water and medicine. #
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A survivor walks among the debris of houses destroyed by Super Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban city, on November 11, 2013. The United States, Australia and the United Nations mobilized emergency aid to the Philippines as the scale of the devastation unleashed by Super Typhoon Haiyan emerged on November 11. #
Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images
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