On Samar, the island facing Tacloban, Leo Dacaynos of the provincial disaster office said Sunday that 300 people were confirmed dead in Basey town and another 2,000 are missing.
He said that the storm surge caused sea waters to rise 6 meters (20 feet).
There are still other towns on Samar that have not been reached, he said, and appealed for food and water. Power was knocked out and there was no cellphone signal, making communication possible only by radio.
The Philippines government's disaster relief agency Sunday said at least 4.4 million people have become homeless in areas hit by super typhoon Haiyan.
Around 86,513 families or 403,503 people were housed in 1,425 evacuation centres, Xinhua cited the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council as saying.
Haiyan, the most powerful typhoon in the country's history, engulfed many areas in Leyte, Samar, Visayas, Bicol and Mindanao regions.
"The sea water rose as high as 20 feet, causing hundreds of people to drown," said Leo Dacaynos of the Eastern Samar provincial disaster risk reduction council.
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