Scenes of unprecedented destruction emerge from Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan's fury

Jody White in the Globe and Mail (Toronto): ...Residents of Tacloban City, in the country’s east, appear to be the hardest hit. The city of 218,000 was largely destroyed, and officials estimate that 10,000 people were killed. A local media outlet reported that the mayor was rescued from the roof of his home.

Survivors face a flooded city with no food, clean water, power or communications. Corpses litter the wreckage, some of them hanging from trees or clogging roads. A massive relief effort is underway, but is impeded by blocked roads and destroyed airports.

The security situation reportedly fell apart within hours of the storm’s arrival. There are reports of looting as survivors search for supplies. The chairman of the Philippine Red Cross told the New York Times that a convoy headed to Tacloban had to turn back after nearly being hijacked by a crowd of hungry people.

Local media are reporting that a state of calamity has been declared in Tacloban, the first step in the release of emergency government funds. President Benigno Aquino is considering declaring a state of emergency and martial law. A state of emergency usually includes curfews, price and food supply controls, military or police checkpoints and increased security patrols....

The Tacloban City Convention Center, shot by Morten Nærbøe, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license