Local government official out there just quoted by Sky as saying death toll could hit 10,000.
Originally Posted by: SEMerc
(Reuters) - At least 10,000 people died in the central Philippine province of Leyte after Typhoon Haiyan
There has been no mention of Eastern Samar, ground zero - does it even exist to count casualties - on that note.....
CATBALOGAN CITY, Philippines - Giporlos and Guiuan in Eastern Samar are in ruins, with typhoon Yolanda damaging 95 percent of the two towns, according to eyewitness accounts on Sunday, November 10.
Because of the devastation, there are no clear estimates of casualties or survivors, they added.
Mark Biong, mayor of Giporlos, travelled 8 hours via a motorbike from his town to this city to report the devastation in Giporlos. In normal times, the road trip from Giporlos to Tacloban takes only one-and-half hours.
"It's total destruction," Biong told government officials and reporters here. At least 95% of the town has been damaged, he added. Giporlos is a coastal town, one of 22 municipalities of Eastern Samar. A 2010 census puts its population at 12,000.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/43345-eastern-samar-towns-ruins-yolanda