The power unleashed by Super Typhoon Haiyan last weekend was on a scale that most New Zealanders simply cannot comprehend, especially when compared to our own powerful storms.

Bola and the Wahine storm combined still don’t come close to the power unleashed by Haiyan.

Let me explain it this way:

Think back to the deadly tornado that hit Hobsonville, Auckland.  Now we need to do some multiplying.

Take the wind speed in that tornado – which we estimated was around 180 to 200km/h – and almost double it.

Haiyan had winds sustained at 320km/h and gusting to 380km.

Now take the size of the Hobsonville tornado – which only affected a narrow part of one suburb – and spread that damage across every street in Auckland – population 1.5 million.

Now spread that damage from Auckland to Wellington.

Now add another several million people in to the North Island’s population.

The Hobsonville tornado lasted less than a minute according to people we’ve spoken with – Haiyan lasted several hours.

Haiyan also brought a storm surge which some on the scene says rivals the damage caused by the Boxing Day tsunami last decade.  Some estimates put it several metres high.

This storm was a on a scale we can almost not comprehend – and certainly NZ has never even come close to seeing damage on this type of scale from a tropical storm.  Haiyan was the most powerful storm to ever make landfall, in any country on earth, since records began.    It was also the most powerful storm of 2013.

Officials say the death toll will likely be over 10,000 in the Philippines alone.  To donate money, we reccommend the Red Cross, who are now on the ground in the Philippines. 

The former typhoon is now falling apart over China.

– Column By Philip Duncan, WeatherWatch.co.nz