As of Sunday, many parts of eastern Visayas are still without electricity. Downed communication facilities caused problems in gathering information from Tacloban city and other affected areas in Leyte province, the official said.
Officials are relying on satellite phones and military radios to gather and convey information about the disaster.
The number of deaths from the wrath of the super typhoon continue to pile up as authorities exert to retrieve bodies in Tacloban city and other worse-hit areas.
Earlier, Leo Dacaynos, chief of the Samar Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Council, said they have already accounted for 300 people dead in Basey town alone, where 2,000 are missing.
Rey Balido, operations officer and spokesman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said Tacloban city airport remains closed to commercial flights after the facility sustained damages.
"The only aircraft landing there, particularly in Tacloban, are military efforts. We are bringing relief goods (to Leyte) through other means like vessels of the Philippines Navy and Philippines Coast Guard," he said.
Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas said authorities are clearing the roads in Tacloban to facilitate retrieval of bodies.
Manuel Roxas said homes made of light materials along the coast were destroyed "by the giant surge from the seashore, which came with high winds".
