Super typhoon Haiyan may have caused 10, 000 deaths in the Philippines according to sources.

As Haiyan, known as Yolanda in the Philippines, leaves for Vietnam, unconfirmed reports from the Asian nation say that 10, 000 lives have been lost.

Authorities of Leyte Province in the Philippines say that about 80 per cent of the place was destroyed by Haiyan.

Regional Police Director Elmer Soria told ABC that based on the governor's estimate, "10, 000 died."

Witnesses and Leyte officials described what happened to Leyte and its capital Tacloban as chaotic. The coastal city of Tacloban, home to about 220, 000 residents reportedly has bodies of victims piled on roadsides. Some, reports say, have not yet been retrieved from their wrecked homes.

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The Philippine Red Cross estimated earlier this weekend that 1, 200 people are dead at the wake of Haiyan, deemed as possibly the most powerful storm in the world in 2013 and the strongest to make landfall.

Among the dead, according to ABC News, is former priest Kevin Lee. The Australian whistleblower, who was involved in a case against the Catholic Church about child sexual abuse, has reportedly been living in the Philippines with his Filipino wife.

The typhoon also left thousands of people homeless. Tacloban City made the news Saturday when people from nearby towns started looting a mall in Leyte's centre.

Sources say that aid agencies helping out in the Philippines are having difficulty reaching remote areas that have been affected by the Haiyan. Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said he does not have the words to describe the destruction of Haiyan in the country.

In an interview, Roxas said, "It's really horrific, it's a great human tragedy. There's no power, there's no light."

Super typhoon Haiyan will make landfall Monday morning in Hanoi. Over the start of the weekend, over 600, 000 people were evacuated by Vietnamese authorities but by Saturday, 200, 000 were allowed to go back home.

According to Vietnam's weather bureau, the super typhoon "is quickly moving north and north-west, travelling at a speed of up to 35 kilometres per hour."

Although Haiyan is weaker as it approaches Vietnam, it has already cost the country four lives.