The devastating power of Typhoon Haiyan and the sheer horror felt by the people who lost so much in the disaster cannot be understated.
This frightening video, captured by a CNN crew, provides a sobering glimpse into the destructive intensity of the super typhoon, one of the strongest storms on record, as it ripped through the Philippines Friday.
Narrated by CNN's Andrew Stevens, who has been reporting about Haiyan from Tacloban, Philippines, the clip offers a tiny taste of the terror the storm's many victims experienced that fateful day.
The video includes footage of frightened residents wading waist-deep in water, glass shattering as the storm's mighty winds rip open windows and doors, people frantically praying as the howling winds close in and brave members of the crew helping the stranded get to safety.
Tacloban is believed to be the city that was hardest hit by Haiyan. CNN reports that every single building in the coastal city appears to have been damaged by the typhoon.
"I was talking to the people of Tacloban," senior presidential aide Rene Alemendras said, according to the Associated Press. "They said 'we were ready for the wind. We were not ready for the water.'"
"We tried our very best to warn everybody," he added. "But it was really just overwhelming, especially the storm surge."
In the wake of Haiyan's deadly sweep through the Philippines, the devastated nation is struggling to come to terms with the massive destruction and loss of life the super storm caused.
“The devastation is … I don’t have words for it, it is really horrific,” the country’s interior minister Mar Roxas said, according to NBC News. “All systems, all vestiges of modern living, communications, power, water, all are down.”
At least 942 people are reported dead, with hundreds more missing. This number, however, is expected to rise exponentially as casualty numbers are collated. Some officials estimate that more than 10,000 people may have been killed by Haiyan.
Want to help? Click here to learn about how you can lend a hand to the survivors of this horrific disaster.
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