MANILA, Philippines — One of the strongest storms on record struck the central Philippines, killing at least four people, forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes and knocking out power and communications in several provinces. But the nation appeared to have escaped a major disaster because the rapidly moving typhoon blew away before wreaking more damage, officials said.

Typhoon Haiyan left the Philippines early Saturday on a path toward Southeast Asia, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tweeted. Forecasters said the storm was expected to pick up renewed strength over the South China Sea on its way toward Vietnam.

TROPICAL STORM TERMS

HURRICANE? CYCLONE? TYPHOON? They’re all the same, officially tropical cyclones. Hurricane is used in the Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, central and northeast Pacific. They are typhoons in the northwest Pacific. In the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, they are called cyclones. Tropical cyclone is used in the southwest Indian Ocean; in the southwestern Pacific and southeastern Indian Ocean, they are severe tropical cyclones.

STRENGTH: A storm gets a name and is considered a tropical storm at 39 mph. It becomes a hurricane, typhoon, tropical cyclone, or cyclone at 74 mph. There are five strength categories, depending on wind speed. The highest category is 5 and that’s above 155 mph. Australia has a different system.

ROTATION: If they are north of the equator they rotate clockwise. If they are south, they rotate counterclockwise.

SEASON: The Atlantic and central Pacific hurricane seasons are June 1 through Nov. 30. Eastern Pacific: May 15 to Nov. 30; northwestern Pacific season is almost all year, with the most from May to November. The cyclone season in the south Pacific and Australia runs from November to April. The Bay of Bengal has two seasons: April to June and September to November.

– The Associated Press

Additional Photos

Huge waves from Typhoon Haiyan hit the shoreline Friday in Legazpi city, Albay province, about 325 miles south of Manila, Philippines. It was one of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded but moved through the islands rapidly. The Associated Press

Nearly 750,000 people in the Philippines were forced to flee their homes.

Weather officials said Haiyan had sustained winds of 147 mph with gusts of 170 mph when it made landfall. By those measurements, Haiyan would be comparable to a strong Category 4 hurricane in the U.S., nearly in the top category, a 5.

Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons are the same thing but called different names in different parts of the world.

Because of cut-off communications in the Philippines, it was impossible to know the full extent of casualties and damage. At least two people were electrocuted in storm-related accidents, one person was killed by a fallen tree and another was struck by lightning, official reports said.

Southern Leyte Gov. Roger Mercado said the typhoon ripped roofs off houses and triggered landslides that blocked roads.

The dense clouds and heavy rains made the day seem almost as dark as night, he said.

“When you’re faced with such a scenario, you can only pray, and pray and pray,” Mercado told The Associated Press by telephone, adding that mayors in the province had not called in to report any major damage.

“I hope that means they were spared and not the other way around,” he said. “My worst fear is there will be massive loss of lives and property.”

Eduardo del Rosario, head of the disaster response agency, said the speed at which the typhoon sliced through the central islands – 25 mph – helped prevent its 375-mile band of rain clouds from dumping enough of their load to overflow waterways. Flooding from heavy rains is often the main cause of deaths from typhoons.

“It has helped that the typhoon blew very fast in terms of preventing lots of casualties,” regional military commander Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda said. He said the massive evacuation of villagers before the storm also saved many lives.

The Philippines, which is hit by about 20 typhoons and storms a year, has in recent years become more serious about preparations to reduce deaths. Public service announcements are frequent, as are warnings by the president and high-ranking officials that are regularly carried on radio and TV and social networking sites.

President Benigno Aquino III assured the public of war-like preparations, with three C-130 air force cargo planes and 32 military helicopters and planes on standby, along with 20 navy ships.

As relief workers began assessing the damage, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that America stood ready to help.

“Having so recently had my own visit to the Philippines prevented by another powerful storm, I know that these horrific acts of nature are a burden that you have wrestled with and courageously surmounted before. Your spirit is strong,” Kerry said in a statement.

Among the evacuees were thousands of residents of Bohol who had been camped in tents and other makeshift shelters since a magnitude-7.2 earthquake hit the island province last month.

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