There are still some people who sift through debris in the dark, wading through murky puddles formed after frequent, heavy rain showers. There are also some groups who sit among the stinking piles of wreckage, huddled around small fires cooking food.
Hopefully, the scene will change in the next two to three days as international relief efforts and government clearing activities are slowly reaching far-flung areas that got battered by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) as it stormed its way through central Philippines with sustained winds of 315 kph (195 mph), and gusts of 380 kph (235 mph) last 8 November 2013.
International help have already trickled in and are currently stored at the undamaged part of the Tacloban City airport awaiting trucks and helicopters. ABS-CBN.com reported that current aid move include the following:
Hopefully, the scene will change in the next two to three days as international relief efforts and government clearing activities are slowly reaching far-flung areas that got battered by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) as it stormed its way through central Philippines with sustained winds of 315 kph (195 mph), and gusts of 380 kph (235 mph) last 8 November 2013.
International help have already trickled in and are currently stored at the undamaged part of the Tacloban City airport awaiting trucks and helicopters. ABS-CBN.com reported that current aid move include the following:
- The United States is doubling the number of MV-22 Ospreys -- rotor planes that can take off and land like helicopters - to eight, joining a team of Marines who are equipped with amphibious vehicles and 12 cargo planes delivering food, water and other essentials.
- Britain has sent a Royal Air Force C-17 transport aircraft. It is also dispatching a 12-member medical team from the state-run National Health Service. Three chartered flights with aid equipment have already arrived in the Philippines. A public appeal has raised £23 million in the first 48 hours.
- The United Nations has launched a flash appeal for US$ 301 million to help with the immediate aftermath of the disaster, which it has said could have already cost 10,000 lives, although the Philippine government says the toll will be lower.
- India has sent an air force C-130 aircraft carrying medicines, hygiene goods and chemicals, tents, blankets, tarpaulins and ready-to-eat meals.
- The International Labor Organization (ILO) is working on emergency employment as part of the UN's appeal. The ILO estimates that three million people have lost their livelihoods, at least temporarily.
- Australia dispatched another C-130 Hercules transport aircraft with a fourth plane on standby, while the amphibious landing vessel HMAS Tobruk is being diverted to the Philippines.
- New Zealand is also sending a C-130 Hercules carrying emergency supplies.
- Sweden has sent three aircraft carrying aid and base camps to serve as the UN's disaster relief hub, as well as 21 European experts in fields including communications and water purification.
- Norway will increase its aid by 20 million crowns to 65 million crowns (US$ 10.5 million).
- South Korea has pledged $800,000 of emergency relief; two C-130s carrying aid left for Tacloban on Thursday and are due to remain there for 10 days.
- Japan said it was ready to send as many as 1,000 troops from its Self-Defense Forces, along with three naval ships and an unspecified number of aircraft. That would be the Japanese military's single largest relief operation abroad since World War II. It also pledged US$ 10 million for emergency shelters and other help, through aid organizations.
- France has delivered a shipment of ten tonnes of emergency equipment including tents and tarpaulins while a Dutch air force DC-10 carried 29 tonnes of canvas, water sterilizing equipment, medicine and solar lighting. Teams of medical experts have been sent from Belgium and Spain.
- Malaysia is sending aid flights and military medics, while Indonesian planes are delivering supplies including water filters. Thailand is adding to the regional aid effort with some US$ 2.7 million in aid and an unspecified number of C-130s to take in medical supplies. Vietnam has pledged US$ 100,000 plus US$ 50,000 from the Vietnamese Red Cross.
- Kuwait, which like other Gulf countries is home to a large number of Filipino expatriate workers, released $10 million in urgent relief aid.
- Charities and companies worldwide are also donating funds. In one of the biggest non-governmental operations, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) is sending eight planeloads of aid including vaccination kits, tents and sanitation equipment.