Tacloban (Eng. City of Tacloban, var. Siyudad han Tacloban, Tagalog Lungsod ng Tacloban, Seb. Dakbayan sa Tacloban) is a port city on Leyte Island on the shores of Leyte Gulf (Philippines), located about 360 km southeast of Manila. In the Eastern Visayas region, it is considered the first of the highly urbanized cities. Tacloban is the capital of the province of Leyte. It is located in Cancabato Bay, on the shores of the San Juanico Strait.

Almost completely destroyed by super-typhoon Haiyan in November 2013.

History
Previously, the city was known under the name Kankabatok, derived from the ethnonym of taverns, the ancient inhabitants of the area. In translation, this name means “possession of the tribe of taverns.” Later, other ethnic groups also began to arrive here.
There was a settlement in this area already in the 16th century, in 1770 missionaries arrived here, the monks of the Augustinian order, and later, in 1813, the Franciscans. Then the city was renamed Tacloban. The city was then inhabited mainly by fishermen who caught crabs and fish with ingenious devices called taqlubs. The city was named after this term.

In 1770, Tacloban was proclaimed the center of the province of Leyte. Prior to this, in 1768, Leyte and Samar, which constituted one province, were divided. It was advantageously located geographically, playing the role of a seaport and a convenient point for trade between both provinces.
In 1901, when Colonel Murray came to power, military rule was established on the island, the city was opened to international trade. During the Second World War, it became a fairly large center of culture, education and trade in the Philippines. Here, copra and abaca were produced in large quantities.
The leading educational institutions were: Junior School, High School, Trade School, Sacred Academy and Tacloban Catholic Institute.

In May 1942, the occupation of the island of Leyte by Japanese troops began. The Japanese fortified the city, making it their port, and placed an airfield here. This is the darkest page in the history of Tacloban. A guerrilla group led by Colonel Ruperto Kangleon began to operate on the island. Of the territories captured by the Japanese, Leyte Island was the first to be liberated. The combined US-Philippine troops were commanded by General Douglas MacArthur. Landing initially in the area of ​​the cities of Tacloban, Palo and Dulag on the coast (otherwise – on the White, Red and Blue coasts), the troops of the Philippines and the United States drove out the Japanese by October 1944. After that, in the building of the Tacloban Capitol, at a meeting between General MacArthur and President Sergio Osmen, the city was declared the seat of the Commonwealth of Governments, and also served as the capital until the country was completely liberated from Japanese invaders.
In October 2008, Tacloban was declared a highly urbanized city.

Modern furnishings
The local government is called the Capitol, otherwise it is called Kanhurau, after the name of the hill on which the provincial government building is located. The head of government is the mayor, who has executive power. Legislative power is vested in the City Council (Sangguniang Panglusod).
Most of the population speaks the Warai-Warai language (Austronesian languages). The composition of the population is mixed. In addition to the indigenous Filipinos, a fairly large group are the Spanish-Filipino and Spanish-Chinese mestizos. The population in 2000 was 178,639 people, in 2007 it reached 217,119 people.

Typhoon Haiyan
On November 9, 2013, the city was destroyed as a result of the most powerful super-typhoon “Haiyan” (Philippine name – “Yolanda”). Most of the buildings in the city, especially in the low-lying western part and near the coast, were badly damaged or completely destroyed. Transport communication is disrupted, the city is practically isolated from neighboring regions. The terminal of the city airport was completely destroyed, only the runway remained.