11.3 million afflicted 
by super typhoon Haiyan

Reaching the worst affected areas was proving very difficult he said, but teams were working round-the-clock to find ways to get supplies in quickly, when conditions allowed.

A woman stares at her bleak future while standing in line among hundreds of others, waiting to leave on a military air transport after super typhoon Haiyan battered Tacloban City. — Reuters

Dangerous debris and ongoing turbulent weather conditions continue to mar relief operations in the Philippines, with the number of people affected by the super typhoon jumping to 11.3 million — including four million children.

Meanwhile, some UAE residents are beginning to breathe a sigh of relief as news from loved ones trickles through, while others based here gear up to fly to the country to help with relief operations.

In the wake of the country’s worst natural disaster, Unicef surveyors said initial estimates of the number of children affected were far too low, with figures now being pitted at about four million — or more than one-third of those affected in total. Unicef Philippines Representative Tomoo Hozumi said supplies were being “rushed to children who are bearing the brunt of this crisis”.

Reaching the worst affected areas was proving very difficult he said, but teams were working round-the-clock to find ways to get supplies in quickly, when conditions allowed.

Speaking to Khaleej Times from Manila on Tuesday, UN spokesperson Orla Fagan said estimates of people impacted by the November 8 typhoon continued to rise, with several million more people included in the latest estimate — up from 9.8 million on Monday.

Logistics and communication remained key priorities, with relief operations being stepped up — but problematic access was delaying the distribution of crucial food supplies, she said.

While a reorganisation plan was being implemented at Manila Airport on Tuesday to facilitate ongoing transportation and access issues, more than 40 metric tonnes of high-energy biscuits had been held up there, waiting to be delivered to the affected areas.

“Nothing came into the airport today. The biscuits should be released tomorrow, but we are trying to implement a more effective strategy to deal with access problems,” she said.

With a constant influx of rescue teams and aid coming into the country, Fagan referred to the earthquake which struck Haiti back in 2010 — killing more than 150,000 people.

“It took us days to get into the affected areas in Haiti, for the same reasons. I’m hoping we can get in (on Wednesday), but (Zoraida) is now expected to hit in the morning,” — bound to hamper aid efforts, she said.

Food and water has become scarce since Typhoon Haiyan ripped through the country killing more than 10,000 people and displacing more than 600,000, with many survivors now begging for help. “Supplies are limited in most places, but food and water are lifesaving. This is the priority,” Fagan said.

And in a bid to clear debris from the roads and facilitate better access for vehicles into the worst-hit areas, Fagan said rescue teams were paying a basic wage to locals to help with the clean-up.

Countries and non-governmental organisations around the world are clubbing together to support the Philippines, after the government declared a state of emergency, with field hospitals, medical personnel, and medical supplies arriving in the Philippines, coordinated by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Priority has been given to the worst-hit areas where health facilities and supplies have sustained the most damage, including Tacloban, Cebu and Leyte.

Lightning struck twice in the Bohol province which suffered a 7.2 magnitude earthquake last month, when a 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit the typhoon-affected area on Tuesday, with Unicef’s warehouse in Copenhagen airlifting $1.3 million worth of additional supplies for another 10,000 families near the area.

Fagan said the UN was in continual contact with its partner humanitarian organisations there and was receiving constant updates on the situation in towns that aid workers had been able to reach.

As at Tuesday, nine people from the town of Hernani were confirmed dead. With a population of 15,000, the number of people missing was still unknown, she said, but the typhoon “created a surge up to 10 metres” there.

The International Organisation of Migration had also reported the current death toll in Guiuan — which had a population of 46,000 — at 65, with 20 people still missing.

More updates would come in as the situation allowed, she said.

kelly@khaleejtimes.com