Typhoon Haiyan’s death toll expected to rise sharply

>>>
out of typhoon-stricken
philippines
are staggering after one of the most powerful typhoons in history. tonight the
international red cross
estimates
typhoon haiyan
left more than 1,000 people dead. communications are difficult.
humanitarian relief
crews are slowly making their way into the hardest hit areas. wind gusts reached 175 miles per hour.
storm surges
as high as trees laid waste to
towns and villages
. speaking from the city of
tacloban
,
philippines
interior minister said, quote, all systems, all vestiges of modern living, communications, power, water, all are down. tonight the pentagon says it is dispatching
u.s. military forces
to the region to assist in the recovery.
tacloban
, the city hardest hit, is 360 miles from manila. that's where the
humanitarian response
is being coordinated. it's where we find correspondent angus walker now with the very latest. angus?

>> reporter:
as every hour passes we are getting a clearer picture of the devastation here as rescuers begin to make their way into the worst affected areas. tonight one thing is clear. the damage is far worse than people had feared. it's been
24 hours
since
super typhoon
haiyan roared ashore in the
philippines
with winds of more than 150 miles an hour. flattening entire cities.

>>
there were heavy winds, heavy rains. no power, no cell phones while the storm passed.

>>
we have so many
dead people
. we don't have bags. bags for the dead.

>> reporter:
the death toll stands now at
1200
but is expected to rise sharply as rescue teams reach remote villages.

>>
thousands of homes are completely wiped out. not only the rain. then the water sweeps in and it can take out entire
towns and villages
.

>> reporter:
one of the hardest hit areas, the city of
tacloban
home to 220,000 people. surrounded on three sides by water. surging
ocean waves
40 feet high submerged most of the city.

>>
the devastation is -- it's -- i don't have the words for it. it's really horrific.

>> reporter:
reporter ata marulo reported live as the typhoon beared down. later retreating to a second floor hotel as the streets quickly became rivers.
storm chaser
jim edds rode out the storm tweeting this picture as the storm was approaching. on facebook today he wrote, amount of casualties significant, so many bodies
left behind
from the surge. security becoming a concern with looting.
water supply
getting low. these satellite photos show the immense storm, the strongest ever to hit land, eclipsing the entire country as it moved over the
island nation
of nearly 100 million. the massive storm caused widespread flooding, triggered landslides and knocked out power and communication to large parts of the country. tonight, vietnam is now on alert as the storm pushes west forecast to hit sunday afternoon. more than half a million residents evacuated to shelter and higher ground. experienced
aid workers
say they haven't seen anything like this since the
asian tsunami
in
2004
. that's not a comparison that should be