Disaster Typhoon Haiyan

A young Filipino girl and her brother receive food aid at a centre in Tacloban.

 

 

Death toll from super-typhoon Haiyan stands at 2,357, which admits worst-hit areas have received no aid. The painfully slow pace of relief efforts after the typhoon in the Philippines has let people down, the United Nations aid chief has said, admitting that teams had yet to reach areas with people in desperate need.

Valerie Amos's assessment from the devastated city of Tacloban came as the aid effort rapidly gathered pace, with the US aircraft carrier USS George Washington and its escort of two cruisers arriving in the disaster zone amid fresh promises of help from other nations. David Cameron said the UK would send its own carrier, HMS Illustrious.

The official death toll from typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Yolanda, stood at 2,357 on Thursday night, though aid workers estimate the total to be considerably higher, citing the lack of information from remote areas.

Amos said conditions for survivors was dismal. Many have gone days without food and some are drinking from polluted wells or standing water because they have no alternative.

"I do feel that we have let people down because we have not been able to get in more quickly," Amos told reporters.

Of the newly increased flow of aid she said: "It would have been better if it had happened three days ago. We are getting there but it's far too slow." While the delivery of supplies from Cebu and Manila to the disaster zone has improved, many of the goods still appear to be stuck at the three major relief bases in Tacloban, Ormoc and Guiuan.

By late afternoon on Thursday, the Philippines navy and air force had transported relief goods across the Visayas island group, which includes the areas of Leyte, Samar and Cebu, officials said