"The priority has got to be, let's get the food in, let's get the water in. We got a lot more come in today, But even that won't be enough, We really need to scale up operations in an ongoing basis," UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos told reporters after touring Talcoban. Her office has released $25 million in emergency relief funds, accounting for a chunk of the millions of dollars pledged by countries around the world.
Some among the desperate residents have resorted to raiding for food. Mobs overran a rice warehouse on Leyte, collapsing a wall that killed eight people. Thousands of sacks of the grain were carted off. But police say the situation is improving on the ground, and there was little sign Thursday of a deteriorating security situation there.
Philippine Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla said it may take six weeks before the first typhoon-hit towns get their electric power back. He said that in Tacloban, order needed to be restored "because if there's no peace and order, it's hard to reinstall the power posts."
He said army troops had fired shots Wednesday to drive away a group of armed men who approached a power transmission sub-station in Leyte province. The unidentified men fired back then fled. Nobody was hurt.
Gegham Petrosyan, from International Committee of the Red Cross, said destruction along the south cost of Samar island was "massive."
"People are desperate for life-saving aid," Petrosyan said. "However, logistical and security constraints continue to hamper the distribution of desperately needed relief."
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