Seven Days of Tragedy: Photographer Recounts Covering Typhoon Haiyan for TIME

2 minute read

I arrived in Tacloban, the city hit hardest by Typhoon Haiyan, just as desperate families were trying to flee. The airport was chaotic and barely functioning. Located on a thin peninsula, it had been slammed on both sides by huge surges of water and battered by some of the highest wind speeds ever recorded on land. Filipino military and U.S. Air Force personnel were ferrying aid, trying their best to control the crowds as survivors scrambled to board any available flight.

The next day I set out to capture the destruction of the city and surrounding area. The scope and magnitude of the physical damage was staggering as was the misery of the people I encountered. They were desperate for food, water, shelter and a way out.

Bodies were literally piled in the streets. Even now, a full week after the typhoon struck, authorities are still searching the rubble for the dead so they can bury them in mass graves. A firefighter I met was on duty the night of the storm and has returned each day to his destroyed neighborhood to look for the bodies of his father and brother.

It seemed to take a long time for aid and relief to reach those who needed it. The first food handout I saw in Tacloban occurred more than four days after the storm. Despite the dire shortages of nearly everything, people have been remarkably hospitable to me, even offering me food from what little they had. It’s humbling to witness that sort of generosity and resilience. I hope as the media spotlight fades, the rest of the world does not forget the plight of the thousands here who have had their homes and lives ripped apart.


Adam Dean is a photographer based in Beijing. He is represented by Panos Pictures.


People play by a fire in a neighbourhood destroyed by Haiyan Typhoon in Tacloban, The Philippines on November 16, 2013.
People play by a fire in a neighborhood destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, The Philippines, on Nov. 16, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Red Cross rescue workers place the body of a person killed by Haiyan Typhoon into a body bag in Tacloban, The Philippines on November 16, 2013.
Red Cross rescue workers place a victim of the typhoon into a body bag in Tacloban, Nov. 16, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
An aerial view the countryside near Tacloban that was effected by Haiyan Typhoon in Tacloban, The Philippines on November 18, 2013.
An aerial view of the countryside near Tacloban, Nov. 18, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
An entire neighborhood destroyed by the typhoon in Tacloban, Nov. 13, 2013.
An entire neighborhood destroyed by the typhoon in Tacloban, Nov. 13, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Men remove the body of a woman killed by Haiyan Typhoon in Tacloban, The Philippines on November 13, 2013.
Men remove the body of a woman killed in Tacloban, Nov. 13, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A man wounded by the Haiyan Typhoon lies in a hospital in Tacloban, The Philippines on November 13, 2013.
Richard Pulga lies in a hospital in Tacloban, Nov. 13, 2013. Two days later, he died of his wounds after not receiving proper medical attention.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
People effected by Haiyan Typhoon react after being unable to board a US military aid evacuation flight from Tacloban Airport in Tacloban, on Leyte Island in The Philippines on November 12, 2013.
People seeking aid react after being unable to board a U.S. military aid evacuation flight from Tacloban Airport on Nov. 12, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Soldiers and search and rescue teams collect bodies of people killed by Haiyan Typhoon in Tanuan, The Philippines on November 15, 2013.
Soldiers joined search and rescue teams collecting bodies of victims in Tanuan, The Philippines on Nov. 15, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Rescue workers load body bags of people killed by Haiyan Typhoon into a mass grave in Tacloban, The Philippines on November 16, 2013.
Rescue workers load body bags of people killed by Haiyan into a mass grave in Tacloban, Nov. 16, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
People search through lists of missing persons lost in Haiyan Typhoon in Tacloban, The Philippines on November 17, 2013.
Relatives search a list of missing persons posted in Tacloban on Nov. 17, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A man who's home was destroyed by Haiyan Typhoon sits by a candle light in the rubble of his home in Tanuan, The Philippines on November 15, 2013.
A man whose home was destroyed by Haiyan sits in the rubble of his home in Tanuan, Nov. 15, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A boy wearing a mask to disguise the smell of dead bodies  clambers through the rubble of homes destroyed by Haiyan Typhoon in Tanuan, The Philippines on November 15, 2013.
A boy wearing a mask to combat the smells of dead bodies clambers through the rubble of destroyed homes in Tanuan on Nov. 15, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
The body of a man killed by Haiyan Typhoon is washed up along the shore in Tacloban, The Philippines on November 16, 2013.
The body of a man killed by the typhoon washed up along the shore in Tacloban, Nov. 16, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A woman stands in the kitchen of her home destroyed by  Haiyan Typhoon in Tanuan, The Philippines on November 15, 2013.
A woman stands in the kitchen of her destroyed home, Nov. 15, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
People effected by Haiyan Typhoon wait in the rain at the airport to board an evacuation flight in Tacloban, The Philippines on November 14, 2013.
Residents of Tacloban wait in the rain at the airport to board an evacuation flight, Nov. 14, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Displaced people effected by Haiyan Typhoon queue in the rain for the first aid delivery at a displacement camp in Tacloban, The Philippines on November 14, 2013.
At a displacement camp in Tacloban, refugees wait for aid to be distributed, Nov. 14, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A woman and child cycle through the rubble of homes destroyed by Haiyan Typhoon in Tanuan, The Philippines on November 15, 2013.
A woman and child bicycle through the rubble of homes destroyed by Haiyan in Tanuan, Nov. 15, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A woman preys during mass with an umbrella to protect herself from the rain coming in through the Santo Nino Church roof that was damaged by Haiyan Typhoon in Tacloban, The Philippines on November 17, 2013.
A woman prays with an umbrella to protect her from the rain falling through the damaged roof of the Santo Nino church in Tacloban, Nov. 17, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A girl sleeps in a Church that is being used as a shelter for those made homeless by Haiyan Typhoon in Tacloban, The Philippines on November 13, 2013.
A girl sleeps in a church being used as a shelter for those made homeless by the storm, Nov. 13, 2013.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME

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