Desperation and looting in the Philippines. ( Archived) (78)

By Andrew R.C. Marshall and Stuart Grudgings
TACLOBAN, Philippines (Reuters) - Desperation gripped Philippine islands devastated by Typhoon Haiyan as looting turned deadly on Wednesday and survivors panicked over delays in supplies of food, water and medicine, some digging up underground water pipes and smashing them open.

Five days after one of the strongest storms ever recorded roared over cities and towns in the central Philippines, survivors in remote regions complained they had yet to receive any aid.

Controversy also emerged over the death toll.
President Benigno Aquino said local officials had overstated the loss of life, saying it was closer to 2,000 or 2,500 than the 10,000 previously estimated. His comments, however, drew scepticism from some aid workers.
Eight people were killed when looters raided rice stockpiles in a government warehouse in the town of Alangalang, causing part of the building to collapse, local authorities said.

Other looters still managed to cart away 33,000 bags of rice weighing 50 kg (110 lb) each, said Orlan Calayag, administrator of the state-run grain agency National Food Authority.

Looters also raided warehouses owned by food and drinks company Universal Robina Corp and drug company United Laboratories in the storm-hit town of Palo in Leyte, along with a rice mill in Jaro, said Alfred Li, head of the Leyte Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Soldiers sent in by Aquino to restore order in the city of Tacloban, which bore the brunt of the storm, fired shots into the air to scatter looters, television footage showed.

Tacloban city administrator Tecson John Lim said 90 percent of the coastal city of 220,000 people had been destroyed, with only 20 percent of residents receiving aid. Houses were now being looted because warehouses were empty, he said.

"The looting is not criminality. It is self-preservation," Lim told Reuters.
Some survivors in Tacloban dug up water pipes in a desperate bid for water.
"We sourced our water from an underground pipe that we have smashed. We don't know if it's safe. We need to boil it. But at least we have something," said Christopher Dorano, 38.

"There have been a lot of people who have died here."
Resident Rachel Garduce said the aid - 3 kg (6 lb) of rice and 1 litre (34 ounces) of water per household - was not enough in her ravaged Tacloban neighbourhood. Her aunt in Manila, 580 km (360 miles) to the north, was travelling by road and ferry to bring supplies. "We are hoping she won't get hijacked," she said.

THOUSANDS REPORTED MISSING
The government has been overwhelmed by the force of the typhoon, which decimated large swathes of Leyte province where local officials have said they feared 10,000 people died, many drowning in a tsunami-like surge of seawater.
Aquino, who has been on the defensive over his handling of the disaster, said the government was still gathering information from various storm-struck areas and the death toll may rise. "Ten thousand, I think, is too much," Aquino told CNN in an interview. "There was emotional drama involved with that particular estimate.
"We're hoping to be able to contact something like 29 municipalities left wherein we still have to establish their numbers, especially for the missing, but so far 2,000, about 2,500, is the number we are working on as far as deaths are concerned," he said.
Officials said Aquino referred to estimated deaths. Official confirmed deaths stood at 1,883 on Wednesday, with only 84 missing, a figure aid workers consider widely inaccurate.

my heart goes out to the people of the Phillipines. It hard to even imagine, what they are going through. The sheer numbers of the people affected is huge.

Yes my heart and prayers gp to them

Nothing new Tom. When people are as desperate as they are for the basics to survive they will go to any lengths.

The World is never prepared for natural disasters, and aid is slow getting to the people who need it.

This tragedy has been compared to the Boxing Day Tsunami.

1 % of all the military expenses would be more than enough to have a huge quick reaction force.Immediatley help would be there-always, everywhere.

2 or 3 days ago the german news said giving 500.000 euro.I had to laugh loud.500 000 is nothing compared to that what the german army costs in afghanistan.But it sounds good in the news- seems nobody thinks deeper.