Water takes a house - level 3
As the clean-up operation gets underway, footage has been released at the moment Typhoon Haiyan roared into Samar Island in the Philippines. The video, filmed by charity worker Nickson Gensis, shows the storm surge completely wash away a house while he, along with five others, took refuge on the top floor of the building. In another instance, an area of barren land can be seen being inundated with water in less than 30 seconds, while 170 mile-an-hour winds pour down on trees and houses. While much of the boarding house he was in was flooded and destroyed, Gensis survived the onslaught and was delivering aid to survivors after the winds subsided. The Philippines faces an enormous rebuilding task from the typhoon, which has so far killed nearly 4,000 people and displaced around 4 million. Difficult words: underway (started), roar (arrive loudly), storm surge (rise of the water and strong winds), take refuge (go somewhere safe), barren land (land which is not suitable for farming), inundate (flood), pour down (hit), boarding house (guest house), onslaught (destructive attack), subside (become less intense).