( CNN ) -- On Leyte Island , one of the hardest hit areas by Typhoon Haiyan , a man is asked by a television crew if he has a message for relatives living abroad . `` I 'm just letting you know , Josie is gone . Please forgive me , I could n't save her , because we all got separated from each other when the strong waves hit , '' said the man , tears rolling down his face as he spoke to CNN affiliate ABS-CBN about his daughter 's death . `` We got separated . `` I could n't even hold on to my child ... Josie is on the corner . Her body has been there three days , '' he tells the camera . With spotty communications in the wake of one of the largest storms in history , some survivors are reduced to turning to television cameras to tell far-flung family members the worst of news . `` To the mother of my kids , who 's currently living in Virginia , I know that you 'll watch this : Justin and Ella are gone , '' another unidentified man tells ABS-CBN . `` They are both dead . '' The number of Filipinos living abroad -- either permanently or as contracted workers -- was estimated at 10.5 million in 2011 , according to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas . The diaspora has Filipinos working in 217 countries around the world , but most work in the United States ( 3.4 million ) , followed by Saudi Arabia ( 1.6 million ) and Canada ( about 850,000 ) , according to the commission . That has left family members abroad in a desperate search for news of loved ones in the storm 's path . In the United Arab Emirates , Naicy Yu Bono is gripped with pain and fear after the storm ravaged her hometown of Tacloban . Among the family members missing are her mother and two daughters , 8-year-old Rheinzi and 22-year-old Reanne . `` My last communication with my eldest ( daughter ) was Friday 1 a.m. , '' she told CNN 's Leone Lakhani . `` She sent me a Whatsapp ( text message ) . She said , 'Mummy I 'm so scared because the wind is so strong . ' '' Bono has been in the UAE -- the fourth largest home of Filipinos expatriates with about 680,000 migrant workers -- for the past six months working to send cash back to her family at home . Now she is at the Philippine embassy preparing to leave the country . `` I 'm going to find my daughters , '' she said . Some relatives abroad have had better luck . From London , iReporter David Armstrong puts out an SOS trying to get in contact with his wife , Ruby , in Ormoc City . Fortunately , he was able to re-establish contact with his wife , but the suffering of his family and other survivors is profound , he said . Four of six homes owned by her family are damaged . `` They have all suffered from upset stomachs as they have had to drink unsuitable water . Their city has had 90 % of its buildings damaged , including hospitals , banks and supermarkets , '' he said . `` They are unable to use any ATM to withdraw money to buy any food from the very few street sellers who are selling food . They have had no relief aid whatsoever . '' While most of the media coverage has focused on Tacloban -- the largest city hardest hit by the storm -- there are many more towns and cities which have sustained substantial damage , Armstrong notes . He is attempting to travel to Ormoc to get supplies to his family . He said his wife told him that `` they have been told by the electric company that they will be without electricity until January as the typhoon has brought down most of the power lines on the island , '' he said . `` She also told me there is only one supermarket open in the whole city and it 's running out of food . There is only one pharmacy open in the whole city but they have very few medicines left and people have had to queue for hours to get any . '' In Tacloban , iReporter Leo Udtohan took his camera along the roads of this city of more than 200,000 people , showing dead bodies wrapped in plastic lying along the street . `` Other dead bodies were washed ashore near the Tacloban fish port , '' he reports . `` In some areas , the dead are being buried in mass graves ... I saw some people bury the dead near the highway . '' `` There 's no clean water , no electricity and very little food , '' he said . `` The communication is still very limited in many areas in southern Leyte , so there is real difficulty if you 're asking for some updates on what happened to families or relatives . ''
Survivor to family abroad : `` Josie is gone . Please forgive me , I could n't save her '' More than 10 million Filipinos live and work in 217 countries around the world . Poor communications has left many wondering the fate of their loved ones . The Philippines's Department of Foreign Affairs said that it was aware of a case involving an American woman who had been missing for more than two years but did not provide any further details.