Survivors flee dire conditions in Philippine disaster zone

Survivors flee dire conditions in Philippine disaster zone

Thousands of people were fleeing dire conditions in typhoon-devastated areas of the Philippines on Saturday, despite stepped up efforts to bring them relief from the disaster.

typhoon haiyan_2.jpg
Thousands of people were fleeing dire conditions in typhoon-devastated areas of the Philippines on Saturday, despite stepped up efforts to bring them relief from the disaster.
 
At least 3,633 people were killed and nearly 2 million people were displaced by Typhoon Haiyan, which flattened cities and towns in the eastern Philippines, the government said.
 
Many of the survivors were hitching rides with the air force and navy from Tacloban City, the capital of worst-hit Leyte province, to Manila or the nearby province of Cebu, while those who could afford it took commercial or chartered flights.
 
The navy said it had transported 3,000 people to Cebu on Thursday, and people were lining up to board the next boat due to depart on Sunday.
 
Survivors in Leyte were staying in dirty and cramped evacuation centres, or in makeshift homes. Water and food was scarce, and there was no electricity throughout the province.
 
Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said government teams had worked overnight to prepare relief supplies and clear debris from the roads.
 
"This is like a conveyor belt," he told reporters in Tacloban City. "We work overnight to pack the goods, load them and in the morning they go out. Every day, the people can count on relief supplies reaching them."
 
-Sapa

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