Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
The BBC's Andrew Harding reports from the area where Typhoon Haiyan made landfall
A US aircraft carrier and its escort of two cruisers have arrived off the Philippines coast to help communities devastated by Typhoon Haiyan.
The top US commander in the Philippines told the BBC that US military support would be on an unprecedented scale.
Officials have begun burying some typhoon victims in mass graves. The confirmed death toll stands at more than 2,300 but is likely to rise.
The UN says some 11 million people have been affected by the typhoon.
Helicopters"Start Quote
End QuoteChina's latest pledge of $1.6m still looks pointedly small besides its previous aid packages to other nations - even to Japan, with whom it is also squabbling over territory"
With images of the suffering flashed around the world, a huge international aid effort has swung into operation.
Philippine Health Minister Enrique Ona told the BBC that international criticism of the government's relief efforts was "unkind".
He said the final death toll was likely to be "significantly lower" than an early estimate of 10,000, but warned that it was unlikely all victims would be identified.
The USS George Washington will expand search-and-rescue operations and provide a platform for helicopters to move supplies, the White House said.
Two US destroyers are already in the Philippines and other US vessels are expected to arrive in about a week, the US Navy said.
On Wednesday the US also ordered the activation of a hospital ship, the USNS Mercy. However, if deployed, it would not reach the Philippines until December.
Media response
It's the foreign press which so far have been most critical of the government here, but there are signs the Philippine media are now openly questioning the competence of the aid operation.
The front page headline of the respected Manila Bulletin reads "Despair and chaos grip Tacloban", claiming that some survivors were so desperate they had been digging up underground pipes and smashing holes in them to get drinking water.
Another paper reports that tonnes of aid remain undelivered, with supplies and relief workers stuck at airports unable to get to the affected areas because of the inefficiency of the government response.
The editorial in the Manila Times calls these "dark hours" when "the country needs a leader" and asks bluntly if President Benigno Aquino is up to the job. A cartoon on the same page sums up a wider public fear - it shows a man putting money into a collecting tin for the victims, covering his eyes and praying his donation doesn't end up in the pocket of a corrupt official.
The UK government is sending the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, more than £20m ($32m) in aid, a team of medical experts and an RAF transport aircraft.
US Marine Brigadier General Paul Kennedy told BBC Radio 5 live that the US aid effort was being stepped up to a level that has "probably never been applied" to a humanitarian crisis.
He said the arrival of the USS George Washington would triple the number of available helicopters, which can also deliver hundreds of thousands of gallons of water every day.
Other countries have also pledged help in the shape of financial aid, relief supplies or emergency teams.
Japan is also preparing to send up to 1,000 troops as well as naval vessels and aircraft, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said.
China - which is engaged in a territorial dispute with the Philippines - is sending 10m yuan ($1.6m; £1m) in relief goods.
Its initial pledge of $200,000 (£120,000) from the government and Chinese Red Cross combined drew criticism in US media, but was also condemned by some Chinese internet users as excessive.
Orla Fagan, at the UN's Humanitarian Affairs office in Manila, said that after a slow start, the aid effort was now accelerating.
Aid at a glance
Asian Development Bank: $500m emergency loans and $23m in grants
Australia: A$30m ($28m) package, including medical staff, shelter materials, water containers and hygiene kits
China: 10m yuan ($1.6m; £1m) in relief goods plus $200,000 (£120,000) from government and Red Cross
European Commission: $11m
Indonesia: Logistical aid including aircraft, food, generators and medicine
Japan: $10m, including tents and blankets. Pledged up to 1,000 soldiers, 25-person medical team already sent
South Korea: $5m plus a 40-strong medical team
UAE: $10m in humanitarian aid
US: $20m in humanitarian aid, 90 marines, aircraft carrier plus logistics support
UK: $16m (£10m) package including emergency shelter, water and household items
Donate to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)
"People are angry, they are distressed, they are traumatised, and we are trying to get this stuff out to them," she said.
Unprecedented logisticsTyphoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded on land, hit the Philippines last Friday.
UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, visiting the devastated city of Tacloban, said the situation was desperate with residents left without food or fresh water for five days.
Aid was now getting in, she said, but "I do feel that we have let people down."
Tacloban's airport was left in ruins by the storm, but in recent days US military planes have been arriving with World Food Programme supplies. A French-Belgian field hospital has also been set up.
Manila has sent troops to Tacloban to keep law and order, but correspondents say there is a growing sense of panic.
In some areas survivors have resorted to digging up water pipes and extracting fuel from reservoirs at petrol stations.
Health experts have warned that the worst-affected areas are entering a peak danger period for the spread of infectious diseases.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
US carrier boosts typhoon effort
Dengan url
http://beritaberbagiceria.blogspot.com/2013/11/us-carrier-boosts-typhoon-effort.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
US carrier boosts typhoon effort
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
US carrier boosts typhoon effort
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar