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Help coming slowly for typhoon-hit city

Published:Wednesday | November 13, 2013 | 12:00 AM
A husband and wife protect their baby from the rain as they wait for an evacuation flight in Tacloban, central Philippines, yesterday. Thousands of typhoon survivors swarmed the airport here yesterday seeking a flight out, but only a few hundred made it, leaving behind a shattered, rain-lashed city short of food and water and littered with countless bodies. - AP

TACLOBAN (AP): Desperately needed food, water and medical aid are only trickling into this city that took the worst blow from Typhoon Haiyan, while thousands of victims jammed the damaged airport yesterday, seeking to be evacuated.

"We need help. Nothing is happening. We haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon," pleaded a weeping Aristone Balute, an 81-year-old woman who failed to get a flight out of Tacloban for Manila, the capital. Her clothes were soaked from a pouring rain and tears streamed down her face.

Five days after what could be the Philippines' deadliest disaster, aid is coming, pallets of supplies and teams of doctors are waiting to get into Tacloban, but the challenges of delivering the assistance means few in the stricken city have received help.

"There is a huge amount that we need to do. We have not been able to get into the remote communities," United Nations humanitarian chief, Valerie Amos said in Manila, launching an appeal for $301 million to help the more than 11 million people estimated to be affected by the storm.

"Even in Tacloban, because of the debris and the difficulties with logistics and so on, we have not been able to get in the level of supply that we would want to. We are going to do as much as we can to bring in more," she said. Her office said she planned to visit the city.

Presidential spokesman, Edwin Lacierda, said relief goods were getting into the city, and the supply should increase now that the airport and a bridge to the island were open.