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Updated November 13, 2013 12:37:55

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The situation for millions of people in typhoon-ravaged parts of the Philippines is becoming dire, but the nation's president says the death toll from the disaster is likely far lower than initially feared.

A massive relief effort is underway after Typhoon Haiyan ripped across the province of Leyte on Friday, but bad weather and damaged infrastructure is hampering efforts to get aid to those most in need.

Aid officials and the United Nations estimates initially put the death toll at around 10,000 in Tacloban alone, but president Benigno Aquino now says it is likely to be much lower.

"The figure right now I have is about 2,000, but this might still get higher," he told CNN.

"Ten thousand, I think, is too much.

"There was emotional trauma involved with that particular estimate, quoting both a police official and a local government official. They were too close to the incident, they didn't have basis for it."

Mr Aquino said his government still has to contact about 29 municipalities to establish the final death toll.

The official death toll stood at 1,774 on Tuesday.

An official state of national calamity has been declared in the country, which is being lashed by heavy rain.

Typhoon Haiyan - known locally as Typhoon Yolanda and one of the strongest storms on record - flattened buildings and knocked out electricity and water supplies as tsunami-like waves and brutal winds tore across large swathes of the archipelago, leaving survivors with virtually nothing.

In the provincial capital Tacloban, which bore the brunt of the storm, few homes remain standing and witnesses have described bodies piled in the streets.

Aid workers struggle to deal with 'major human catastrophe'

Thousands of aid workers are already on the ground to help deal with what the organisation has described as a "major humanitarian catastrophe".

The United Nations says the Philippines urgently needs food, sanitation, shelter and debris removal.

But survivors are facing long waits for aid to arrive because of damage to roads and other infrastructure, and the ongoing rain is making relief efforts more dangerous.

"People are now absolutely desperate. They need food, they need water, they need shelter," UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said.

"People of course need to be protected, women, children, those with disabilities."

Christopher De Bono, who is in Manila with the children's charity UNICEF, has described how aid workers are coping with the enormity of the devastation.

"Basically what happens is you throw yourself in, you ignore sleep and you forget everything else for the first week, and at the end of that you burn out and someone else comes in and takes over from you," he said.

"I don't know what else to say but when you know that children's' lives are what you're working for, it's a lot easier to stay focused and stay awake."

The United States is sending an aircraft carrier carrying relief supplies and Britain is also sending a warship with equipment to make drinking water from seawater, and a military transport aircraft.

Australian relief teams head to Philippines

The UN has made $US25 million from its central emergency fund available to the country, and launched an appeal for an additional $US300 million.

Australia has pledged $10 million in aid, and Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he is prepared to send more.

Two Air Force aircraft have been loaded in Darwin a nd are set to fly out to the Philippines as part of Australia's relief effort.

A C-17 Globemaster is packed with 25 tonnes of emergency and medical supplies, and a C-130 Hercules will carry 36 emergency and medical personnel to the country.

The specialist team made up of doctors, nurses and logistics experts from around Australia is expected to operate in the region for at least two weeks.

The Philippines' Ambassador to Canberra, Belen Anota, has thanked Australia for its assistance, saying the nation is "very grateful".

Army shoots to kill in crackdown on looting

Meanwhile soldiers have been deployed to the worst-hit parts of the nation to try to restore order and stop looting.

Survivors have reported gangs stealing consumer goods, including televisions and washing machines from small businesses.

The Philippines government has also imposed a curfew, deployed armoured vehicles and set up checkpoints to help end the looting, which some have put down to acts of sheer desperation.

Famished survivors desperate for food and medical supplies have also ransacked aid convoys, hampering relief efforts.

The military appears to have made good on its threat to use deadly force in order to protect aid convoys.

Soldiers are said to have killed two Communist insurgents who were allegedly trying to intercept aid being trucked into Tacloban.
ABC/wires
Topics: disasters-and-accidents, storm-disaster, relief-and-aid-organisations, philippines, asia

First posted November 13, 2013 06:33:35

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Millions wait for help in typhoon-devastated Philippines

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The situation for millions of people in typhoon-ravaged parts of the Philippines is becoming dire, but the nation's president says the death toll from the disaster is likely far lower than initially feared. A massive relief effort is underway after Typhoon Haiyan ripped across the province of Leyte on Friday, but bad weather and damaged infrastructure is hampering efforts to get aid to those most in need.

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