Photos: Philippine typhoon survivors pray for victims on 10th anniversary

Tacloban: Survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan prayed for their dead loved ones in the devoutly Catholic Philippines on Wednesday as they commemorated the 10th anniversary of a storm that killed more than 6,000 people.

Haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever recorded, unleashed winds of up to 315 kilometres (195 miles) an hour and whipped up tsunami-like waves that devastated central islands in the archipelago nation.

Tacloban, the capital of Leyte province, bore the brunt of the storm's fury and was almost totally destroyed by five-metre-high storm surges that crashed over mostly poor coastal communities.

Nene Natividad prays for her 6 children whose names are engraved at a memorial wall for Haiyan victims. | People returned a decade later to Tacloban's seaside convention centre - which was used as an evacuation site during Haiyan - for a Catholic mass to remember the victims and pay tribute to those who helped rebuild the city.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos (left) attended the ceremony along with members of his Cabinet, foreign diplomats and survivors of the storm.

Mellisa Bagro lights candles at the grave of her two children. | "Ten years have gone by, and yet the memory of this tragedy remains indelible in our hearts and in our thoughts," Marcos told the audience.

He said the Philippines - typically affected by more than 20 major storms a year - needed to build "stronger and more resilient communities" in the face of climate change, which scientists have long warned is making storms more powerful.

"Be assured that the government is always striving to ensure that such tragedies of this magnitude will be avoided and will be adapted to," he said. "We must make climate change a vital component of our national policies."

Stormy clouds hung over the city of around 280,000 people on Wednesday, adding to the sombre atmosphere of the anniversary.

About 6,300 people were killed by Haiyan, and a decade later more than a thousand are still missing. More than four million people were left homeless.

A few people holding umbrellas for the occasional shower of rain visited a cemetery in Tacloban where hundreds of people killed in Haiyan are buried.

Residents left flowers and lit candles were at a memorial plaque with the names of victims, or sat next to one of the white crosses marking a loved one's final resting place.