Philippines defends relief efforts
November 15, 2013
Philippines Interior Secretary Mar Roxas admitted Friday that aid had been slow in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, which hit one week ago. He asserted, however, that relief efforts were beginning to pick up.
"The need is massive, the need is immediate, and you can't reach everyone," Roxas told reporters in Tacloban City, the capital of the worst-hit province of Leyte.
"Every day is better than yesterday. There is nothing fast enough in a situation like this because so many were affected and infrastructure damaged," he said.
Roxas added that vehicles carrying supplies had now reached 30 out of 40 towns in the province. Trucks were also working to carry away bodies and debris.
Foreign governments, meanwhile, continued to dispatch food, water, medical supplies and trained staff to the region on Friday. The US aircraft carrier USS George Washington arrived off Leyte, with helicopters on board dropping aid to the worst affected areas.
"One of the best capabilities the Strike Group brings is our 21 helicopters," the commander of the George Washington Strike Group, Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery said in a statement ahead of the mission. "These helicopters represent a good deal of lift to move emergency supplies around," he added.
Differing death toll figures
Citing regional officials, the United Nations reported Friday that the death toll from the typhoon, which hit the central Philippines on November 8, had now reached 4,460.
According to news agency Reuters, a notice board in Tacloban City Hall estimated the deaths at 4,000, up from 2,000 a day before. It reported that the toll was compiled by local officials who began the process of burying bodies in a mass grave on Thursday.
Civil defense executive director, Eduardo del Rosario said Friday the death toll has risen to 3,621, a jump of more than 1,200 from the previous toll given by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
The United Nations humanitarian office estimates that more than 11 million people were affected by Haiyan's destruction. Of these, an estimated 600,000 people were displaced and remain in desperate need of food, water and shelter.
ccp/ipj (AFP, Reuters, AP, dpa)