Philippine Typhoon Haiyan survivors ‘desperate’ for aid

MANILA -- Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines are increasingly desperate for food, water and medical supplies, officials in affected areas say. The official death toll stands at more than 2,000, though some reports say it could be as high as 10,000. The UN says more than 11 million people may have been affected and some 673,000 displaced. On Tuesday, eight people died when a wall collapsed as thousands of survivors mobbed a food warehouse. Police and soldiers were unable to stop the looters, who took more than 100,000 sacks of rice from the government facility in Alangalang, Leyte, said Rex Estoperez, spokesman for the National Food Authority. There were also reports on Wednesday of gunshots in the devastated streets of Tacloban, a city of 220,000 on Leyte island which is particularly badly affected. Typhoon Haiyan - one of the most powerful storms ever recorded on land - hit the coastal Philippine provinces of Leyte and Samar on Friday. It swept through six central Philippine islands before going on to kill several people in Vietnam and southern China. Disaster management officials in the Philippines have put the confirmed death toll there at 2,275, with another 3,665 injured as of Wednesday. More than 80 people are listed as missing. But speaking to CNN on Tuesday, Philippine President Benigno Aquino said the widely reported estimate that 10,000 people had been killed by the storm - known locally as Yolanda - was inaccurate and may have come from officials facing “emotional trauma”. But he said 29 municipalities had yet to be contacted to establish the number of victims there. The president also warned that storms like Haiyan were becoming more frequent, and there should be “no debate” that climate change was happening. He said either the world committed to action on climate change “or let us be prepared to meet disasters”. However, a congressman in Leyte told the BBC he believed the government was giving conservative estimates of the death toll “so as not to cause undue alarm”. “Just viewing the disaster’s scope - its magnitude and the areas affected - we believe that the 10,000 figure is more probable,” said Martin Romualdez. “As we start cleaning up we are finding more bodies.” Agencies