Super Typhoon Haiyan slams Philippines, 200 thousand people left homes

The 5-category power typhoon has brought winds reaching 315 km/h with gusts reaching 370 km/h. The waves hitting Samar and Leyte shores are 5 metres high.

 "If we unite, we will be able to minimize the consequences of the typhoon,” RIA Novosti quoted Filipino President Benigno Aquino. “Let’s be calm and move to safer places for now.”

About a million Filipinos are hiding in shelters prepared in the central provinces of “the country of seven thousand islands”. Ships are not functioning, hundreds of flights have been cancelled and schools and governmental institutions have been closed there.

 Haiyan is expected to leave the Philippines on Friday and Saturday. It may reach the capital, Manila. The super typhoon will head for Vietnam and China afterwards.

Photo: AFP