Philippines: way more than 10,000 dead - bodies piled in heaps WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Forget the optimistic reports suggesting the casualties in the Philippines are only a few thousand. New images suggest that what local authorities are saying is much more accurate. In the city of Tacloban alone, there could be 10,000 dead following Super-Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - President Benigno Aquino III raised eyebrows yesterday when he said that the death toll could be lower than the original estimates of 10,000. He suggested the toll would be about 2,000 to 2,500. Images and reports from the ground suggest that he is woefully mistaken.

Leyte Province was the hardest hit, and in the cities of Tacloban, authorities say there could be 10,000 dead. More disconcerting is that two of every five dead are children.

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Typhoon Yolanda struck with sustained winds of 195 MPH and brought 20 foot surges ashore. Locals have compared the coastal devastation to a tsunami. Giant ships washed inland and now rest amongst the ruins of houses.

Although an estimated 800,000 people were evacuated, they were not safe from the ravages of what was categorized as a super-typhoon. The rain was so intense that it collected in rivers on hills and mountains and washed down into lower villages with full flash-flood force. Basements and other enclosed spaces filled with water, forcing people out of shelter for fear of drowning, and into swirling debris.

Aid workers are struggling to reach victims. So many people are displaced, so many homes are destroyed, and so much infrastructure is broken that workers cannot progress very far before they are overwhelmed with the severity of the crisis. Many people in remote locations remain entirely without aid.

The clock is ticking. As bodies pile up on streets, because there are so many dead, a frantic search for survivors continues amongst the rubble. Meanwhile, the people are hungry, sanitation and medicine are lacking, and all food must be delivered from the outside. But it remains difficult to feed literally millions of hungry people.

The world has pledged aid, but delivery is a problem. The U.S. Navy is sending an aircraft carrier and its attendant ships as well as the U.S. Marines with helicopters to aid in search and rescue missions and distribute aid.

Doctors have also been dispatched by various nations.

Amid this, reporters and photojournalists are moving about the ruins, capturing images of the devastation and the human experience amid a crisis that is very much ongoing. For now, the emphasis seems to be on seeking survivors, reuniting the lost, and gathering the dead for burial.

In a week, there will be little more on the minds of millions but simple survival. It cannot be assured that even with the promised aid, there will be enough to provide for the many victims of a devastation never before seen on Earth.

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