1,200 Feared Dead in Philippines Typhoon: Red Cross

"They were just like matchsticks flung inland. All the houses were destroyed."

The official government death toll tonight was 138.

But with rescue workers yet to reach or communicate with many ravaged communities across a 600-kilometre stretch of islands, authorities said they were unable to give a proper assessment of how many people had been killed.

Philippine Red Cross secretary general Gwendolyn Pang said her organisation estimated 1,200 people had died, while a UN official who visited Leyte described apocalyptic scenes.