US Teen Witnessed 'Most Harrowing' Image of Women, Kids Trapped by Typhoon Haiyan

Philippines government confirms at least 1,774 are dead.

ByABC News
November 12, 2013, 2:30 AM

Nov. 12, 2013— -- An American who survived Typhoon Haiyan and was evacuated from the hardest hit area earlier today said she saw countless women and children trapped under a tarp when the storm roared ashore with powerful winds.

Related: Two US citizens confirmed dead in Philippines

Rebecca Ruth Guy, 19, was living in the city of Tacloban, which bore the full force of the winds and the tsunami-like storm surges Friday. Most of the city is in ruins, a tangled mess of destroyed houses, cars and trees.

"When the storm hit, our apartment was flooding so we tried opening the door but the flooding was already rising up to our chest," Guy told ABC News.

How to Help the Victims of Typhoon Haiyan

Faced with a life-and-death situation, Guy's friend smashed the window so they could climb to the roof and escape the storm surge, which is being blamed for a large part of the destruction and death.

"We got out to the roof," she said. "The rain was coming, the winds were crazy and it was getting cold. So we ended up sandwiching together and holding onto one another for warmth, praying for protection of the people.

"The most harrowing was when I saw women and children piled under tarpaulin, and when I saw dogs skewered on gates, cars thrown into buildings, people trying to find something to eat, water to drink," she added.

Guy was a part of the second group of Americans who were transported out of Tacloban on the U.S. military's C-130 plane. There was a long line of Americans, young and old, boarding the plane from the tarmac who were in need of water, food and, in some cases, medical attention.

A third group of Americans is expected to be evacuated later today along with some locals, who walked to the airport for days hoping for a chance to leave their obliterated home behind them.

It was a far different scene when two Philippine Air Force C-130s arrived in Tacloban earlier today only able to evacuate a few hundred. More than 3,000 people who had camped out hoping to escape the devastation surged onto the tarmac past a broken iron fence, The Associated Press reported. Many were left behind, forced to wait for the next flight and more relief supplies.

Related: US Allocates $20M for Typhoon Assistance

"We need help. Nothing is happening," Aristone Balute, 81, told the AP after she didn't get a flight.

"We haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon," she added, as raindrops fell after a weak tropical storm made landfall.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council confirmed at least 1,774 deaths. The US State Departrment said today that at least two American citizens had been killed.

While officials originally feared the number of dead could rise to 10,000, President Benigno Aquino said today he thought the death toll would be much lower.

More than 9 million people have been affected, according to the United Nations, and more than 660,000 have been displaced.

More than 2,000 residential buildings in Tacloban are either heavily damaged or completely destroyed. All that remains is a barren wasteland of hunger, filth and the unmistakable stench of death as bodies remain trapped under debris.

Typhoon Corpses Horrifying but Not a Disease Threat

International aid groups and militaries are rushing assistance to the region, but the supply does not come close in meeting the demand.

"It's overwhelming," Air Force Capt. Antonio Tamayo told the AP. "We need more medicine. We cannot give anti-tetanus vaccine shots because we have none."

U.S. boots on the ground are bringing much needed backup as powerful Osprey helicopters are now ferrying supplies to the hardest hit areas.

"A disaster this magnitude could completely overwhelm any force or any government and what the Osprey can do is to supplements the exiting rotary wing lift that the Philippine Air force already possess," said U.S. Col. John Peck of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade told ABC News.

PHOTOS: Typhoon Haiyan Pummels the Philippines

Some of the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan arrived at Los Angeles International Airport Monday night, thrilled to be back with family members.

Rita Whatling told ABC News station KABC-TV in Los Angeles that when the storm hit, she thought her life was over and she would never see her daughter again.

"I'm scared. I thought I'm not coming back," Whatling said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.