On a map of the world you will see to the East a shattered land mass, smashed into over 7,000 pieces and afloat on the sea just below China and to the right of Vietnam. It is the Philippines. The United Kingdom looks sturdy in comparison but even so it was not hard to imagine the shocking force of Super Typhoon Haiyan as it bludgeoned its way over the archipelago on the morning of Friday 8 November 2013.