How to help the typhoon victims in the Philippines
Around 2,500 people have now been confirmed dead after the vicious Typhoon Haiyan ripped through the Philippines. A severe shortage of basic supplies are leaving people desperate, and in danger of more than just starvation or dehydration. Mobs have swarmed the few places that held supplies, and in one recent incident in a rice warehouse, eight people were killed when a crowd forced its way in and caused a wall to come crashing down.
Even though many loads of supplies have been sent to or near the country, a lack of transportation and damaged or blocked roads are making it difficult for the goods to actually reach the people. “I live on the road from the airport and I haven’t seen any goods coming out,” said local businessman Noel Mateo. “I don’t see any reason at all why they can’t give out the stocks.” Supplies from several countries are still headed towards the Philippines, and vessels like the USS George Washington are carrying helicopters that will fly to hard-to-reach places.
Meanwhile, the government is struggling to maintain to control, but criminal activity is spreading. “The city government is still trying to be in charge, but we have no capacity,” Tecson John Lim, the Tacloban city administrator, said. “The central government does what they think they should, and we coordinate.”
How to help the typhoon victims in the Philippines
Contact the Red Cross at 1-800-REDCROSS or http://www.redcross.org/index.jsp
