<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right no-rightrail"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/527e94cc69bedda476581080-1200/super-typhoon.jpg" alt="Super Typhoon" width="1200" /><p class="source">REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco</p></div><p></p></div>When <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/super-typhoon-haiyan-heads-for-phillipines-2013-11">Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines</a>, we knew the destruction would be unimaginable.</p>
<p>The storm was as strong as they get, and as we've ever seen. It was the strength of a Category 5 hurricane, with sustained winds above 200 miles per hour, and 23-foot storm surges.</p>
<p>As images and footage of the storm and its aftermath rolled in, many were <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/typhoon-haiyan-damage-is-worse-than-hell-2013-11">shocked by the damage</a>. </p>
<p>Thousands of people also likely died. Not as much as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/philippines-estimates-at-least-10000-died-from-super-typhoon-2013-11">the 10,000 some claimed</a>, but a very large hit for such a small country. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/two-americans-dead-super-typhoon-2013-11">Approximately 1,700 died,</a> including two Americans. </p>
<p>Not only could we see the storm itself from Space, but satellites can also see the devastation of the storm is from the sky. Google for media put together these before and after images of hard-hit parts of the cities of Dulag and Tacloban. The images were taken on November 10, but we just saw them in <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/2013/11/20/visual-look-back-typhoon-haiyan-devastation-left-behind/#.Uo1IIWSG2xo" target="_blank">a post by Discover magazine's ImaGeo blogger Tom Yulsman.</a> </p>
<p>They are truly devastating. </p>

BEFORE AND AFTER: Aerial Pictures Show Super Typhoon Haiyan's Catastrophic Damage

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5280efc169bedd536f1f9b12-1093-820/cctv-reporter-phillipines-typhoon.jpg?maxX=800" border="0" alt="CCTV reporter phillipines typhoon" width="800" /><p class="source">CCTV reporter</p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>The scale of super <keyword id="46590" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Typhoon">typhoon</keyword> Haiyan and the damage it wrought on the Philippines can be hard to imagine - some <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/philippines-estimates-at-least-10000-died-from-super-typhoon-2013-11">10,000 people are thought to be dead</a>, and the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/devastating-pictures-from-the-philippines-super-typhoon-2013-11">pictures of the aftermath are terrifying</a>.</p>
<p>One reporter was actually in the thick of the storm and able to get some of the most incredible footage from the storm itself, according to Shanghaiist. The correspondent, CCTV's Barnaby Lo, was on the Philippines' Leyte Island - an area authorities now say is 70-80% gutted.</p>
<p>Watch below:</p>
<p><object width="600" height="450"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/lU7W0fZewWU?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/lU7W0fZewWU?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="450" width="600" /></object></p>

A Chinese Reporter Captured Some Of The Scariest Footage From The Huge Philippines Typhoon

<p><div class="image-container"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/52862cc669beddb25168a820-1200-800/187969306.jpg?maxX=800" border="0" alt="philippines typhoon haiyan" width="800" /><p class="source">Chris McGrath / Getty</p></div></div></p>
<p>One of the strongest storms ever recorded has devastated parts of the <keyword id="3750" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Philippines">Philippines</keyword>, and relief is slow to arrive</p>
<p>LONG accustomed to fearsome storms, floods and earthquakes, Filipinos are usually stoical in the face of natural disasters. Yet the sheer magnitude of the super- typhoon that ripped through the middle of the archipelago on November 8th was unprecedented, with sustained winds of 250 kilometres per hour (160mph). The scale of the damage left in its wake was shocking. President Benigno Aquino declared the devastation a "national calamity".</p>
<p>Some towns hit by the storm may never wholly recover. For now, questions are being asked about whether the country could have been better prepared, as well as what might be done to mitigate the impact of severe storms that whip in--recently, with greater frequency--off the Pacific Ocean. Many Filipinos note that this storm hit just as the latest round of UN-sponsored climate-change talks was getting under way in Warsaw in Poland. Their government insists that man-made climate change is heightening the risk of typhoons, but scientists are not so sure (see "Cyclones and climate change: The new normal?").</p>
<p><div class="image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/52862bff69bedd5d4c68a826-290-393/d73d8d099e4c5ceb30215e276859ca87.gif" border="0" alt="d73d8d099e4c5ceb30215e276859ca87" /><p class="source">The <keyword id="6365396" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Economist">Economist</keyword></p></div></div></div>Some of the regions hit by Typhoon Haiyan, or Yolanda as it was called in the Philippines, are remote. Almost a week after it struck, a proper assessment of the damage is still being pieced together. The government says that more than 2,300 people have been killed. The figure will rise as more bodies are recovered in the worst-hit places, such as Tacloban on the island of Leyte. The government says about 7m people were affected by Haiyan; the UN says as many as 11m. About 600,000 have been made homeless.</p>
<p>Early estimates of the economic cost are about $15 billion. This relatively low figure reflects the fact that Haiyan laid waste to some of the poorest regions of the country. Their backwardness also helps account for the slowness of the rescue effort in many places. Roads and airports were hardly first-class before; now Haiyan has destroyed much of the infrastructure. Aid is being flown in quite easily to the well-developed tourist hub of Cebu. But UN agencies and NGOs are struggling to shift desperately needed food and medicines on to places where they are really needed.</p>
<p>Villagers made homeless by the disaster line the main coastal highway that twists and turns from Cebu towards Daanbantayan, at the far northern end of Cebu island. Amid the devastation of felled trees, flattened crops, toppled power lines and houses blown away, children hold up crudely written cardboard signs: "Please Help", "We Need Food".</p>
<p>At the town hall in Daanbantayan, the mayor, Augusto Corro, says that relief is arriving for the stricken people but that it is "not enough". All the area's 86,000 inhabitants have been affected by the disaster, he says, and need food, water, shelter and medicine. More than nine-tenths of homes there have been damaged or destroyed. The typhoon killed nine people in Daanbantayan and injured 50 others.</p>
<p>A relief operation has seen the authorities distribute rice, bottled water and canned foods. But Margie Flores arrived at Daanbantayan's town hall early on the morning of November 13th to find she was too late. All the food had gone. "We are very hungry," she says. In Malingin, on the fringes of Daanbantayan, a lorry arrives with relief supplies. Villagers jostle for plastic bags of rice and bottled water. An official, Francisco Rosalejos, says there is enough to feed 500 people, which is only half the local population. Most, he explains, are farmers. If the weather holds out, and farmers can get hold of seed, then they can quickly replant their flattened fields. If not, Mr Rosalejos does not know how the villagers will carry on.</p>
<p>In Tacloban, across the strait from Cebu, the situation is more desperate. Haiyan flattened nearly the whole town of several hundred thousand people; one aid worker described it as "worse than hell". Five days after the typhoon, there is still little in the way of food and clean water, and few medical supplies are coming in. As a consequence, thousands have been trooping to the wrecked airport outside the city in the hope of getting out. Day after day, most are disappointed. Meanwhile, the risks rise of typhoid, cholera and hepatitis breaking out, thanks to an absence of sanitation or clean water. Bodies are rotting in the streets, and the hospitals have been all but wrecked. The survivors' misery is compounded by yet more rain from the next in a train of tropical depressions.</p>
<p>Survivors also fear looters and criminals, some of whom are reported to have broken out of jail. In many places law and order broke down after Haiyan struck. Police forces and local-government officials suffered in the typhoon as much as anyone else. In Palo in Leyte province, only 34 of 983 local policemen are reported to have shown up for duty after the storm. There are reports of food convoys and warehouses being sacked by armed gangs--as well as by desperately hungry people. More police and troops are flying in.</p>
<p>Amid the carnage, questions have been raised as to why a part of the world so prone to terrible storms could have suffered so much. Surely the authorities could have done better, especially with nearly two days' notice of a spectacular storm on its way?</p>
<p>Comparisons are being made with Vietnam, where Haiyan swept after it had finished with the Philippines. In Vietnam Haiyan did far less damage than predicted. Some 14 people were killed, but all of them during the course of storm preparations. One pre-storm assessment said that the typhoon would affect 6.5m of Vietnam's 90m people.</p>
<p>Certainly, it had weakened as it churned through the South China Sea. But good preparations were also important. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies praised the Vietnamese government's evacuation of nearly 800,000 people from coastal provinces. The UN also pointed out that the prime minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, who seems personally to have overseen the preparations for Haiyan, wisely declared the highest level of alert, while mobilising senior officials to help with the response to the disaster.</p>
<p>Yet some authorities in the Philippines deserve praise, too, for their immediate reaction to the storm warnings. About 1m people were evacuated, usually to buildings that were considered to be safe. The trouble was that the typhoon's sheer force overwhelmed any preparations. Take Tacloban, where thousands got to a big indoor stadium, considered to be stormproof. Sure enough, the specially reinforced roof stayed on. But people were killed instead by a 5-metre (16-foot) high surge of water which flooded the structure. In Tacloban the storm surge was like a tsunami. Nobody seems to have foreseen that it could do so much damage.</p>
<p>When Haiyan landed at Guiuan, gusts hit 315kph, which some consider to be the highest ever recorded. Little may have survived in Guiuan, still largely inaccessible.</p>
<p>If no one had really prepared for this scale of natural assault, many experts think more will come in future. The Western Pacific has the highest frequency of tropical cyclones north of the equator. The Asian Development Bank, for one, thinks that, whereas the average number of tropical cyclones a year has not risen significantly when measured over several decades, the severity of individual events has been increasing because of rising sea and air temperatures. Sea levels in the region have also been rising. For cities such as Manila, the capital of the Philippines, the risks are grave, since the city is also sinking because of the extraction of groundwater and the weight of foundations. It all increases the risk of lethal flooding.</p>
<p>The rickety, decentralised and often corrupt Philippine political system does not help, either. Vietnam's Communist government is often chided for its tight repression and the absence of democracy. But when a storm hits, top-heavy bureaucracies, with help from the armed forces, can successfully get coastal communities out of harm's way. In the Philippines, an archipelago spread out over 7,100 islands, the central government's writ rarely extends very far. Indeed, it breaks down almost completely in the southern region of Mindanao, where Muslim insurgents have been in open revolt for decades (although peace negotiations are now under way). Well-meaning plans drawn up at the centre are often ignored, and local corruption also takes its slice of centrally allocated funds. Many doubt whether all the aid about to flood in from overseas will reach the people who most need help. The question is whether Filipinos will accept the political way of doing things once the worst of Haiyan's consequences are past, or start to ask more of the politicians in charge.</p>
<p>Click <a href="https://subscriptions.economist.com/nwcd">here</a> to subscribe to The Economist</p>
<p><img class="nc_pixel" src="http://pixel.newscred.com/px.gif?key=YXJ0aWNsZT04MGVkMjc5Y2VjYWYzYjUwOGRlOGQxZTBhNTRhYjM0MSZvd25lcj1kM2Y2MjMzYjQ4YzhmNmE1ZWQ2NzhjMzU2NDBkZmQxNCZub25jZT05ODRmOGJhZi1mODFmLTQzNWItOTQxNS1jZmUzMDhmOWFkNmQmcHVibGlzaGVyPThjMDBmYmVlNjFkNWJjZjBjNjA5MmQ4YjkyZWJiY2Ex" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></p>

Typhoon Haiyan Damage Is 'Worse Than Hell'

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/52823af0eab8eaba499f9e8f-1200-924/rtx158zc-2.jpg?maxX=480&amp;maxY=359" border="0" alt="RTX158ZC" width="480" height="359" /><p class="source">REUTERS/Erik De Castro </p><p class="caption">An aerial view of a coastal town, devastated by super Typhoon Haiyan, in Samar province in central <keyword id="3750" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Philippines">Philippines</keyword> November 11, 2013. Dazed survivors of super Typhoon Haiyan that swept through the central Philippines killing an estimated 10,000 people begged for help and scavenged for food, water and medicine on Monday, threatening to overwhelm military and rescue resources. </p></div><p></p></div>The death toll from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/super-typhoon-haiyan-heads-for-phillipines-2013-11">Typhoon Haiyan which hit the Philippines on Friday</a> is believed to have reached 10,000, according to one provincial government.</p>
<p>9.5 million people, about one-tenth of the population, has been affected by the disaster.</p>
<p>And the storm that has taken a human toll will also hurt the economy in the short term.</p>
<p>But in the long run, GDP growth should recover significantly boosted by reconstruction efforts, writes Daniel Martin of Capital Economics.</p>
<p>The government's in strong fiscal situation will help fund spending and Filipinos working overseas will likely send more money home to help relatives.</p>
<p>A look back at the impact of natural disasters in recent years suggests the "impact on GDP has been short-lived and small."</p>
<p>This typhoon missed the country's main commercial and industrial centers.</p>
<p>The region that was impacted accounts for 18% of GDP and is more agricultural. <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/super-typhoon-haiyan-razes-rice-sugar-harvests-in-philippines/articleshow/25610162.cms">Rice and sugar plantations were destroyed</a>.</p>
<p>"Damage to crops is likely to push up food prices over the coming months but, again, previous experiences suggest the effects will unwind quickly," said Martin.</p>
<p>Of course, "looking at GDP alone can under-represent the negative impact of disasters and exaggerate the recovery." Over time we will also have to consider the impact on population growth and consider whether more Filipinos emigrate.</p>

Here's What Typhoon Haiyan Means For The Philippine Economy

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5283d4cfeab8ea222e8b4567-1200-924/131112-m-ff989-016jpg.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="131112 M FF989 016.JPG" width="480" /><p class="source"><a href="http://www.marines.mil/Photos.aspx?igphoto=2000719313">U.S. Marines/ Cpl. Codey Underwood</a></p><p class="caption"><keyword id="60476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Marines">Marines</keyword> with the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade deliver humanitarian relief supplies to the Philippines Nov. 12.</p></div><p></p></div>Yesterday, Marines with the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade from Okinawa, Japan, unloaded <a href="http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/article/20131113/NEWS/311130017/Marines-boost-disaster-relief-mission-Philippines">the first shipments of emergency supplies</a> in the Philippines as part of a complex <keyword id="58178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="disaster-relief">disaster relief</keyword> mission launched in the wake of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pictures-of-typhoon-haiyan-aftermath-2013-11">Typhoon Haiyan</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/13/world/asia/typhoon-haiyan/">Haiyan wreaked havoc</a> on the Philippines, leaving more than 10,000 dead, billions of dollars in damages, and dire conditions for those who survived.</p>
<p>And though it is common practice for the U.S. <keyword id="6359526" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Military">military</keyword> to offer humanitarian assistance after a disaster, here's why the stakes are particularly high in the <span>Philippines.</span></p>
<p><span></span><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The Philippines are a major ally for the United States. </strong><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The two nations regularly hold military training exercises together. In fact, U.S. Marines were in the Philippines just last month as part of </span><a href="http://www.dvidshub.net/feature/PHIBLEX14#.UoPepWSDSI4">a large-scale amphibious training exercise</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"></span><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The Philippines have a terror problem. </strong><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">There are </span><a href="http://archive.adl.org/terror/tu/tu_0404_philippines.asp">four major Islamic extremist groups</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> in the the Philippines, and terror groups recruit best when the situations are dire. Any perception that the United States turned its back on the people there could breed extremism.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"></span><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The Philippines are a keystone in Obama's '<keyword id="1745884" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Pacific-Pivot">Pacific Pivot</keyword>.'</strong><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> In 2011, President Obama announced </span><a href="http://www.foreignpolicyi.org/content/obama-administrations-pivot-asia">an initiative to shift U.S. military focus to the Pacific theater</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">. With the rise of China and bellicose rhetoric from North Korea, it's an obviously important target. If the United States hopes to succeed in this endeavor, it is of vital importance to keep friends close. </span></p>

The US Disaster Relief Mission In The Philippines Has Big Strategic Implications

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/527edae569beddba19581065-1200-924/super-typhoon-6.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="Super Typhoon" width="480" /><p class="source">REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco</p></div><p></p></div>Nope, not a typo.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1353471/typhoon-haiyan-kills-least-six-china">According to the South China Morning Post</a>, <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> has pledged just $100,000 in cash to victims of Typhoon Haiyan, which authorities estimated may have killed 10,000 and left physical damage <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/world/asia/philippines-storm-surge-leaves-scenes-of-devastation.html">"so great that it is even hard to tally."</a></p>
<p><span>The U.S. has pledged 20 million. Australia has pledged $10 million. HSBC bank alone has pledged $1 million, <a href="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/iainmartin1/100245490/why-is-china-doing-so-little-to-help-the-philippines/?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter">according to The Telegraph</a>.</span></p>
<p>"We will take into consideration the developments of the disaster and co-ordinate with relevant international organisations to see what we can do," the SCMP quoted foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang as saying. China is also offering ""humanitarian emergency relief assistance."</p>
<p>The stinginess stems from territorial disputes over islands in the South China Sea.</p>
<p>Last summer, China and The <keyword id="3750" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Philippines">Philippines</keyword> had a maritime stand-off over the Scarborough Shoal (which is so small that it doesn't even register on Google Maps) that saw vessels refusing to leave the area for weeks. The Philippines (along with Vietnam) also lays claim to the Spratly islands and objects to China's claim to the Paracels. China says the area around the islands contain vast natural resource deposits, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13748349">according to the BBC</a>. </p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/52823523eab8ea04409f9e8d-867-709/south%20china%20sea%20map%20dispute%20-1.png" border="0" alt="south china sea map dispute " width="800" /></p>
<p>By comparison, because of sanctions the U.S. did not appear to offer any cash to Iran after an earthquake killed more than 300 last year. America did, however, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/world/middleeast/us-vows-to-speed-aid-to-iran-earthquake-victims.html">pledge to expedite waiver applications</a> from organizations wishing to provide relief.</p>
<p>But <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-16/iran-rejects-us-offer-of-earthquake-aid/4201698">Iran rejected ended up rejecting it anyway</a> (it also <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/iran-rejects-foreign-aid-help-earthquake-victims-or-do-they-747947">turned away Germany, Russia, Taiwan and Turkey</a>).</p>
<p>Ugly begets ugly.</p>

REPORT: China Pledges Just $100,000 To Help In The Philippines Disaster

<p>The <keyword id="3750" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Philippines">Philippines</keyword>' PSEi stock exchange is down -2.14% in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. </p>
<p>And the Philippine Peso is off -0.47% against the dollar.</p>
<p>Here are the charts - for the PSEi:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5280471fecad046c78913c36-482-292/psei-2.png" border="0" alt="psei" /><p class="source">Bloomberg</p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>And the Peso:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/528046df69bedd2976a29962-473-284/peso-1.png" border="0" alt="peso" /><p class="source">Bloomberg</p></div><p></p></div></div> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/09/typhoon-haiyan-philippines-vietnam/3483099/">More than 10,000 are feared dead</a> after what is believed to be <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/08/typhoon-haiyan-facts">the largest storm in recorded history</a> churned across the Pacific.</p>
<p>(<a href="https://twitter.com/CNBCWorld/status/399726276841181184/photo/1"><em>Via CNBC World</em></a>)</p>

The Philippines' Stock Market And Currency Are Tanking 

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/527fdc87ecad04312e913c56-1200-924/super-typhoon-7.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="Super Typhoon" width="480" /><p class="source">REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco</p></div><p></p></div>WASHINGTON (<keyword id="76338" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Reuters">Reuters</keyword>) - A team of about 90 U.S. <keyword id="60476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Marines">Marines</keyword> and sailors headed to the <keyword id="3750" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Philippines">Philippines</keyword> on Sunday, part of a first wave of promised U.S. military assistance for relief efforts after a devastating typhoon killed at least 10,000 people, U.S. officials said.</p>
<p>Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this weekend ordered the U.S. military's Pacific Command to assist with search and rescue operations and provide air support in the wake of super typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded.</p>
<p>The team of U.S. forces from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade left for the Philippines from a U.S. base in Okinawa, Japan, aboard two KC-130J Hercules transport aircraft, the Marines said in a statement.</p>
<p>Two Florida-based Navy P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft, which had been on a six month rotation to Misawa, Japan, have been prepositioned in the Philippines to assist with search and rescue operations, the Marines said.</p>
<p>The typhoon is estimated to have killed at least 10,000 people in the central Philippines. Most of the deaths appear to have been caused by surging sea water strewn with debris that many said resembled a tsunami, leveling houses and drowning its victims.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Sandra Maler)</p>

U.S. Sends Marines To Help Philippines After Super Typhoon

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/52b3004d69bedd4e52f15459-497-373/line-3.png?maxX=480" border="0" alt="Line" width="480" /><p class="source"><span>LINE</span></p></div><p></p></div>LINE, a Japanese messaging app, <a href="http://en.lineblog.naver.jp/archives/35759919.html" target="_blank">just announced</a> that its charity "sticker pack" has raised about $552,000 for victims of Typhoon Hayain, a storm <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/images-of-the-philippines-before-and-after-super-typhoon-haiyan-2013-11?op=1" target="_blank">that ripped through the Philippines</a> last month. </p>
<p>One of several free mobile messaging services popular overseas - including <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-wechat-2013-12?" target="_blank">WeChat</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/whatsapp-facebook-comparison-2013-11" target="_blank">WhatsApp</a> - LINE is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/line-app-revenue-2013-12" target="_blank">an enormous company</a> that makes a lot of its money through selling stickers. Stickers are cute emoji-esque images that users can insert in their messages, and <a href="http://thebridge.jp/en/2013/08/line-press-conference-tokyo" target="_blank">LINE makes more than $10 million per month</a> selling them.</p>
<p>The creators of LINE are no strangers to dealing with natural disaster. The app was released two months after the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/towns-near-fukushima-power-plant-photos-2013-10?op=1" target="_blank">devastating 2011 earthquake in Japan</a>, in response to the fact that <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/19/nhn-line/" target="_blank">people couldn't communicate with their telephones or email services</a> from mobile carriers during the resulting chaos.  </p>
<p>The "Pray for the Philippines" pack includes eight stickers. It went on sale November 15 and will continue to be available for about $1 until the end of the year, when all the proceeds will be donated to the Philippine Red Cross. The $552,000 raised so far is the total LINE made from the relief pack after Apple and Google took their transaction fee cuts. </p>
<p>Check out the rest of the stickers:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/52b3036e6bb3f76052f1545a-486-364/line-4.png" border="0" alt="Line" /><p class="source"><span>LINE</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>

You Searched For "Typhoon Hayain" and got 9 results

BEFORE AND AFTER: Aerial Pictures Show Super Typhoon Haiyan's Catastrophic Damage

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A Chinese Reporter Captured Some Of The Scariest Footage From The Huge Philippines Typhoon

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Typhoon Haiyan Damage Is 'Worse Than Hell'

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Here's What Typhoon Haiyan Means For The Philippine Economy

Mamta Badkar

The US Disaster Relief Mission In The Philippines Has Big Strategic Implications

Brian Jones

REPORT: China Pledges Just $100,000 To Help In The Philippines Disaster

Rob Wile

The Philippines' Stock Market And Currency Are Tanking

Rob Wile

U.S. Sends Marines To Help Philippines After Super Typhoon

Reuters

Messaging App Line Donates Over $500,000 To Hurricane Relief By Selling Stickers

Jillian D'Onfro