The deadliest storm to hit the Philippines since at least Typhoon Tehlma in 1991, Haiyan smashed into the archipelago with wind speeds as high as 170 mph (more than 20 mph faster than Hurricane Katrina’s worst gusts) and surging sea levels up to 20 feet. Despite preparations, including the evacuation of nearly 800,000 people, more than 5,000 people were killed as the storm wreaked havoc in central Philippines and leveled entire parts of the coastal city of Tacloban. Nearly 2 million people were left homeless.
Money and supplies streamed in from the international community in a show of goodwill—and diplomacy. The Chinese, on unfriendly terms over disputed maritime territories, were criticized for offering, at first, a paltry $100,000, or one-seventeenth of what New Zealand was giving. Meanwhile the U.S. seized on an opportunity to put its geopolitical Asia “pivot” into action, promising $37 million in aid over the following days and dispatching an aircraft carrier to support relief efforts.
