Philippine government defends Typhoon Haiyan response
Manila points to unprecedented scale of storm, destroyed infrastructure and failed communications as obstacles to aid
The Philippine government on Friday defended its efforts to deliver aid to victims of Typhoon Haiyan, many of whom have received little or no assistance since the monster storm struck one week ago.
“In a situation like this, nothing is fast enough,” Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said in Tacloban, most of which was destroyed by the storm. “The need is massive, the need is immediate, and you can’t reach everyone.”
Government officials have given different death tolls, both actual and estimated, as a result of the storm.
Given the scale of the disaster, and infrastructure and communications problems, this is not unusual.
The spokesman for the country’s civil defence agency, Major Reynaldo Balido, confirmed early on Friday that the figure had risen to 2,360, hours after the United Nations issued conflicting reports on how many people had died. On the ground in Tacloban, authorities handed out a situation report stating that 3,422 people had been killed on Samar and Leyte islands, the two worst affected areas.
Some officials estimate that the final toll, when the missing are declared dead and remote regions reached, will be more than 10,000.