The city of Tacloban in Leyte province in central Philippines was on November 8, 2013 hit by a major Typhoon Haiyan, which also slammed into five other provinces in central part of the country. Following the massive storm, people in these areas are facing severe shortage of water, electricity and food.
A multi-million dollar relief campaign has been launched by the US aid groups and about 90 US marines and sailors are on their way to the Philippines, as part of the promised military assistance for relief efforts. The president of the United States, Barack Obama assured that the US is ready to offer additional help.
An official of World Vision who is located in the Cebu Province informed that as much as 90 percent of the northern Cebu province has been destroyed completely. Even the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said that it is sending emergency supplies to the Philippines. Tomoo Hozumi, the representative for UNICEF Philippines said in a statement, “Reaching the worst affected areas is very difficult, with limited access due to the damage caused by the typhoon to infrastructure and communications”.
The majority of deaths seemed to have been caused by surging water, which came along with the debris and looked like a tsunami. The city of Tacloban is located in a cove where the seawater narrows and makes it more vulnerable to the storms.
Photo Credits: Resources
