DHAKA: The Philippine Red Cross estimated that more than 1,000 people were killed in the coastal city of Tacloban and at least 200 in hard-hit Samar province when one of the strongest typhoons ever to make landfall slammed into the country.

Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross, said the numbers came from preliminary reports by Red Cross teams in Tacloban and Samar, among the most devastated areas hit by Typhoon Haiyan on Friday.

‘An estimated more than 1,000 bodies were seen floating in Tacloban as reported by our Red Cross teams,’ she told media, reports The Straits Times.

‘In Samar, about 200 deaths. Validation is ongoing.’

She said she expected a more exact number to emerge after a more precise counting of bodies on the ground in those regions.

Philippine president Benigno Aquino said the government is prepared to use 23 billion pesos in savings from various agencies and including his discretionary fund for relief and rebuilding of disaster-ravaged towns and provinces.

BDST: 1950 HRS, NOV 09, 2013
RoR/SRS