Children are seen from a worn out Philippine flag in the town of Hernani, devastated by the typhoon.
MANILA: The US, Australia and the UN mobilised emergency aid to the Philippines as the scale of the devastation unleashed by Super Typhoon Haiyan emerged yesterday.
The Pentagon sent Marines and equipment to assist with the relief effort following the typhoon, which may have killed more than 10,000 people in what is feared to be the country’s worst natural disaster.
Vietnam, despite coping with a mass evacuation programme as a weakened Haiyan swung onto its territory, provided emergency aid worth $100,000 and said it “stands by the Philippine people in this difficult situation”.
The relief operation was focused on the city of Tacloban on Leyte island, three days after the typhoon demolished entire communities across the central Philippines and left countless bodies and gnawing desperation in its wake.
Delivering on a promise of quick help from President Barack Obama, about 90 US Marines and sailors based in Japan flew into Tacloban aboard two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, after receiving a bird’s eye view of the immense scale of destruction across Leyte.
They brought communication and logistical equipment to support the Philippine armed forces in their relief operation.
Later, the Marine Corps said it was sending a further 90 troops tasked with helping a humanitarian assistance survey team on the ground.
Australia pledged Aus$10m ($9.38m). The aid will include tarpaulins, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, water containers and health and hygiene kits.
A team of Australian medics will leave tomorrow via a C17 military transport plane from Darwin to join disaster experts.
Philippine officials were struggling to cope with the scale of death and destruction, with reports of violent looters and scarcity of food, drinking water and shelter.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon promised UN humanitarian agencies would “respond rapidly to help people in need”.
Unicef said a cargo plane carrying 60 tonnes of aid including shelters and medicine would arrive in the Philippines today, to be followed by deliveries of water purification and sanitation equipment.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR was also organising an airlift carrying aid.
The European Commission said it would give €3m ($4m), while Britain offered an emergency support package worth $9.6m. The German Embassy in Manila said an initial shipment of 23 tonnes of aid was being flown in and German rescue teams were already at work.
Japan sent a relief and medical team of 25, while Malaysia readied a crew and cash aid was offered by Taiwan and Singapore.
New Zealand increased its humanitarian relief and Canada promised up to $5m aid.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) was also sending 200 tonnes of aid in two flights from Dubai and Belgium.
President Benigno Aquino declared a state of national calamity and deployed hundreds of soldiers in the coastal city of Tacloban to quell looting as dazed survivors begged for help and scavenged for food, water and medicine.
The huge scale of death and destruction from Friday’s storm become clearer as reports emerged of thousands of people missing and images showed apocalyptic scenes in one town that has not been reached by rescue workers.
One of the most powerful storms ever recorded, typhoon Haiyan levelled Basey, a seaside town in Samar province about 10kms (6 miles) across a bay from Tacloban in Leyte province, where at least 10,000 people were killed, according to officials.
About 2,000 people were missing in Basey, said the governor of Samar province.
Reuters
