On 8th November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, local name Yolanda, made landfall in the central Philippine islands region. Considered one of the most powerful typhoons ever to make landfall in recorded history, the 600 km diameter Typhoon Haiyan crossed the Philippine archipelago, bringing widespread devastation in its path. Strong winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges caused extreme loss of lives and widespread damage to property. Storm surges were primarily responsible for the 6300 dead, 1061 missing and 28,689 injured in Haiyan's aftermath. Here, we document the storm surge simulations which were used as basis for the warnings provided to the public 2 days prior to the howler's landfall. We then validate the accounts based on field data and accounts provided in the news. The devastating Haiyan storm surges are one of the biggest in several decades, which exacted a high death toll despite its early prediction. There were many lessons learned from this calamity, and information contained in this work may serve as useful reference to mitigate the heavy impact of future storm surge events in the Philippines and elsewhere.