Philippines. Province Eastern Samar. Hernani. Barangay (neighbourhood) Batang. Two grandmothers pray on the rubbles of the Medalla Milagrossa Catholic Church destroyed by typhoon Haiyan's winds and storm surge. A group of children, boys and girls, play and seat on the altar. In the background (R), the Non-governmental organization (NGO) Terre des hommes (Tdh) distributes food and non food items to the polulation. 95 % of the town was destroyed by typhoon Haiyan. Typhoon Haiyan, known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, was an exceptionally powerful tropical cyclone that devastated the Philippines. Haiyan is also the strongest storm recorded at landfall in terms of wind speed. Typhoon Haiyan's casualties and destructions occured during a powerful storm surge, an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea level. 24.11.13 © 2013 Didier Ruef