Philippines reels from Typhoon Haiyan havoc

Philippine President Benigno Aquino has promised that help is on the way for the hundreds of thousands hit by Typhoon Haiyan, as the death toll was expected to reach 10,000 in one province alone.Thousands of survivors need access to fresh food and water after the storm flattened buildings and cut off communications on Friday.“We are addressing first the needs of those who are still living, especially those that are injured, the need for food and need for water,” the president said as he visited the worst-hit city, Tacloban, in Leyte province on Sunday.Aquino added that security would be put in place in the area.“We have around 300 policemen and soldiers who can rotate and restore peace here. Later tonight, there will be several armoured vehicles from our army arriving to show the strength of the state and stop those who started the looting here,” he said. Aquino’s pledge came as the regional police chief for eastern Leyte province said 10,000 people were believed to have died on that island alone, mostly by drowning and from collapsed buildings.“We had a meeting last night with the governor and, based on the government’s estimates, initially there are 10,000 casualties [dead],” Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria said in the provincial capital, Tacloban.Soria said that as much as 80 percent of the area in the path of Haiyan in Leyte province was destroyed.