1.14 – Reading: Typhoon Haiyan
Is it possible for the wind to destroy an entire city? Absolutely! In Southeast Asia, these fast moving winds are called typhoons, and they can be incredibly destructive.
Every year (numerous) storms slam into the coasts of the Philippines and Vietnam killing many people and causing damage to buildings.
In November of 2013, one of the most destructive storms in history hit the Philippines.
This (violent) storm was named Typhoon Haiyan, and it was so destructive because of its power, its location, and its storm surge.
Firstly, Typhoon Haiyan was so destructive because of its power.
Typhoon Haiyan is the most powerful storm to ever hit a country anywhere in the world.
This (defend) typhoon had winds that were moving at more than 370 km/h.
Imagine driving in a car at 370km/h and sticking your head out of the window.
These (extensive) winds were strong enough to rip branches off trees, tear roofs from houses, and send cars flying into the air.
Such a powerful storm is a reminder of how destructive nature can be.
Another reason that Typhoon Haiyan caused so much (damage) is its location.
The strongest part of the storm crossed the city of Tacloban, the largest city in the Eastern Visayas.
This beautiful city of 220,000 people was completely flattened by Typhoon Haiyan, and more than 6,300 people were killed.
City administrator, Tecson John Lim, stated that roughly 90 percent of the city had been destroyed.
After the storm had passed, the people discovered that there were severe shortages of food and clean water.
It would be many days before sympathetic people from around the world would be able to offer relief to the victims of this terrible storm.
It was very unlucky for a big storm to directly cross such a big city.
Lastly, Haiyan was so destructive because of its storm surge.
A storm surge is when strong winds push water from the top of the ocean onto the land causing (terrible) flooding.
The storm surge caused the ocean near Tacloban to rise more than 5 meters! This destroyed the local airport and many other buildings in an instant.
The flooding from the storm surge went more than 1 km into the city causing many people to drown in the flood waters, or simply__________.
There was no way for the people to ___________ themselves from this deadly storm surge.
In conclusion, every year typhoons ____________ the safety of the Filipino people.
It is thought by some scientists that global warming could increase the frequency and severity of these storms.
Certainly, the Philippines cannot face with another storm like Haiyan.