Photo by AP Wideworld

Typhoon Haiyan slammed into the Visayan Islands in the central Philippines on Nov. 8 with sustained winds in excess of 148 miles per hour and storm surges estimated between 15 ft and 19 ft.

It is reported to be one of the strongest storms to make landfall in history and comes on the heels of a magnitude-7.2 earthquake that hit, on Oct. 15, the central Visayan island of Bohol, destroying and weakening many buildings. The typhoon reportedly wiped out the port city of Tacloban on the island of Leyte. Initial estimates put the death toll at 10,000.

Damage to infrastructure is severe, but detailed information was not available at ENR press time.