LONDON, November 10 (Itar-Tass) - At least 10 thousand people have died after the powerful Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippine province of Leyte in the central part of the country, Reuters reported on Sunday.

Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall, lashed the province, swallowing coastal towns, a senior police official said on Sunday. About 70 to 80 percent of the area in the path of Haiyan in Leyte province was destroyed, the official said.

Employees of international organisations have stated that the destruction scale in the disaster zone was comparable to the effects of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004. The province of Leyte and eastern Samar Island have been the worst hit by the typhoon.

Typhoon has caused numerous floods and landslides and virtually destroyed the coastal city of Tacloban with a population of 220 thousand. Most of the city buildings have been badly damaged or completely destroyed. Major highways are flooded or blocked with fallen trees, as a result of which Tacloban has been isolated. Philippine rescue teams on Saturday were able to land three transport planes at the local airport. However, eyewitnesses say that nothing except the runway has remained at Tacloban airport.

Typhoon Haiyan has become the 30th tropical cyclone that has formed in the Pacific Ocean this year. Wind speed in the centre of the hurricane reached 275 kilometres per hour and gusts were exceeding 310 km per hour.