Our Prayers for the Philippines

Source:

Tacloban, Philippines (CNN) — After laying waste to huge swaths of the Philippines, flattening villages and washing bodies into the water, Typhoon Haiyan is set to bring more devastation to Vietnam.

While the massive storm barreled across the South China Sea on Sunday, many Filipinos grappled with devastation like they’ve never seen before.

Entire houses leveled to pieces. More than 100 bodies scattered on the streets of one city. Thousands more residents stranded, grieving and hungry.

The Philippine Red Cross estimated at least 1,200 people were killed by Haiyan. Sharee Tan, the governor of Samar province, reported 370 dead and 2,000 missing in her province alone.

But the full death toll could be significantly higher as officials make their way to remote, nearly inaccessible places pummeled by the cyclone.

Tacloban city Mayor Alfred Romualdez told CNN it is “entirely possible” that 10,000 people may have died in the storm in Leyte province. His statement came after a top provincial police official, Elmer Soria, said local estimates suggest as many as 10,000 are feared dead in Leyte, according to AFP.