Typhoon Haiyan kills at least 100 in the Philippines

Piled up vehicles are pictured on a flooded street filled with debris after Typhoon Haiyan hit the central Philippine city of Tacloban, Leyte province in this still image from video November 8, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, possibly the strongest storm ever to hit land, has devastated Tacloban, killing at least 100 people and destroying most houses in a surge of flood water and high winds, officials said on Saturday.[Photo/Agencies]

MANILA -- Over 100 people were reported killed and 100 others were injured in central Philippine city of Tacloban alone in the aftermath of super typhoon Haiyan (local name Yolanda) , the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said Saturday.

CAAP Director General William Hotchkiss III, quoting reports from the agency's personnel on the ground, said that the presumed dead bodies were lying on the streets near the Tacloban City airport with around 100 more injured and requesting for medical evacuation and additional medical personnel.

He said that the reports were gathered when the team composed of local CAAP members, Aviation Security group and airport personnel started clearing the airport runway since early Saturday morning.

There were no casualties at the airport, but communication was limited due to brownout, Hotchkiss said.

He ordered his deputy for operations Captain John Andrews to fly to Tacloban airport, bringing needed supplies, food, medicine and another set of CAAP communication equipment to the airport.

Airports in Iloilo, Caticlan, Romblon, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Masbate, Legaspi and Surigao are now back to normal operations, while Tacloban and Busuanga were still closed due to severe damage brought by Haiyan, he added.

The state weather forecasting agency said that as of 10:00 a.m. local time, the eye of the typhoon was located based on all available data at 549 km west of San Jose in northern province of Occidental Mindoro. It has a maximum sustained wind of 175 km per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 210 kph.

Typhoon Haiyan continues to move over the South China Sea and is expected to exit the Philippines Saturday afternoon.