U.S. military speeds aid to Philippines for Typhoon Haiyan victims

U.S. military speeds aid to Philippines for Typhoon Haiyan victims
Los Angeles Times
Brian Bennett
November 10, 2013

Japan-based U.S. Marines board an aircraft bound for the Philippines, where they are to help with the country's recovery from Typhoon Haiyan.
(Hitoshi Maeshiro / European Pressphoto Agency / November 10, 2013)

WASHINGTON — American military search-and-rescue helicopters, surveillance planes and Marines streamed toward the central Philippines on Sunday to survey the devastation and assist survivors whose homes were washed away by one of the largest Pacific storms on record.

Typhoon Haiyan — called Typhoon Yolanda by Filipinos — may have killed more than 10,000 people, officials said Sunday, as it lashed the island chain with winds over 200 miles per hour and caused widespread flooding.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel directed the U.S. Pacific Command to deploy rescue teams, helicopters for airlifts, logistics officers and cargo planes to assist in the relief efforts.

At the request of the Philippine armed forces, the Navy was flying two P-3 Orion surveillance planes above the islands to help rescuers locate the most severely damaged areas and find survivors.

In a statement released Sunday, President Obama said that he and First Lady Michelle “are deeply saddened by the loss of life and extensive damage done by Super Typhoon Yolanda.”

“I know the incredible resiliency of the Philippine people, and I am confident that the spirit of bayanihan will see you though this tragedy,” Obama said, adopting a term commonly used in the Philippines that means communal cooperation.

On Sunday, some 80 Marines from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade stationed in Okinawa, Japan, boarded two KC-130 cargo planes bound for the Philippines, Col. Brad Bartelt, a Marine Corps spokesman, said in a statement. They were taking supplies and communications equipment.
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