One if the worst typhoons in 30 years Super Typhoon Haiyan has devastated the central Philippines city of Tacloban with extreme damage in the region near the region of Layte. Winds of over 300km/h flattened who villages with a particularly high storm surge causing most of the estimated deaths of an estimated 10,000 people. The storm surge reached a depth comparable to the height of palm trees.
To give an indication of the scale of destruction, the path of particularly damaging winds was 600km wide! This is why super typhoons are fare more dangerous - simply based on scale and intensity!
Another view from above of Super Typhoon Haiyan courtesy of NASA space station.