Astronaut Snaps Photo of Huge Typhoon

Death toll from Haiyan in Philippines was at 100 and rising quickly
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 9, 2013 6:00 AM CST
Astronaut Snaps Photo of Huge Typhoon
This image of Typhoon Haiyan was taken by astronaut Karen L. Nyberg aboard the International Space Station.   (AP Photo/NASA, Karen L. Nyberg)

Super Typhoon Haiyan is done with the Philippines, but it will take some time to get a handle on the death toll—now at 100 and rising—and the damage. In the meantime, US astronaut Karen L. Nyberg took a photo from the International Space Station that provides the best sense yet of Haiyan's immense scale, notes the Epoch Times. On the ground, authorities say at least 100 are dead, with the city of Tacloban on Leyte Island appearing to take the biggest hit from the storm, reports AP. But Reuters says the toll is expected to "rise sharply" as communication is restored.

"The last time I saw something of this scale was in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami," says a UN disaster official in Tacloban. "This is destruction on a massive scale. There are cars thrown like tumbleweed and the streets are strewn with debris." Meanwhile, Haiyan is headed to Vietnam, where mass evacuations are underway. It weakened to a category 4 storm today with sustained winds of 101mph, but meteorologists say it could pick up speed as it travels over the South China Sea. (More discoveries stories.)

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