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Desperate Philippine typhoon survivors loot, dig up water pipes

TACLOBAN (Philippines) — Desperation gripped Philippine islands devastated by Typhoon Haiyan as looting turned deadly today (Nov 13) and survivors panicked over shortages of food, water and medicine, some digging up underground water pipes and smashing them open.

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TACLOBAN (Philippines) — Desperation gripped Philippine islands devastated by Typhoon Haiyan as looting turned deadly today (Nov 13) and survivors panicked over shortages 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 slammed into cities and towns in the central Philippines, anger and frustration boiled over today as essential supplies dwindled. Some survivors scrawled signs reading “Help us”.

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.

Some areas appeared to teeter near anarchy amid widespread looting of shops and warehouses for food, water and supplies.

There were reports of gunfire between security forces and armed men near a mass grave in worst-hit Tacloban in Leyte province, but city administrator Tecson John Lim denied the clash based on information he had received from the army.

Eight people were crushed to death when looters raided rice stockpiles in a government warehouse in the town of Alangalang, causing a wall to collapse, local authorities said.

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

Warehouses owned by food and drinks company Universal Robina and drug company United Laboratories were ransacked in the storm-hit town of Palo in Leyte, along with a rice mill in Jaro, said Mr Alfred Li, head of the Leyte Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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

“The looting is not criminality. It is self-preservation,” Mr Lim told Reuters.

Some survivors in Tacloban dug up water pipes in their desperate need for water.

“We don’t know if it’s safe. We need to boil it. But at least we have something,” said Mr Christopher Dorano, 38.

“There have been a lot of people who have died here.”

Resident Rachel Garduce said the aid — 3kg of rice and 1l of water per household a day — was not enough in her ravaged Tacloban neighbourhood. Her aunt in Manila, 580km to the north, was travelling by road and ferry to bring supplies. “We are hoping she won’t get hijacked,” she said.

Secretary Mar Roxas denied law and order were breaking down. “It is wrong to say there is lawlessness in the city,” he told reporters.

That said, the World Health Organization said teams from Belgium, Japan, Israel and Norway had arrived in the Philippines to set up field hospitals.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington will arrive later this week, carrying about 5,000 sailors and more than 80 aircraft. It has been joined by four other United States Navy ships.

The US, a close ally and former colonial ruler of the Philippines, has also provided eight C-130 cargo planes for delivering aid, said Cabinet Secretary Almendras.

Rescuers have reached some previously cut off regions, such as Guiuan, a wind-swept city of 40,000 people that was spared the storm surge that washed over Tacloban. Local officials say 85 people were killed in Guiuan, with 24 missing.

The typhoon also levelled Basey, a seaside town in Samar province about 10km across a bay from Tacloban. Local officials say 80 people were killed there.

The overall financial cost of the destruction was hard to assess. Initial estimates varied widely, with a report from German-based CEDIM Forensic Disaster Analysis putting the total at US$8 billion (S$10 billion) to US$19 billion. REUTERS

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