Simone Orendain, VOA News
MANILA — Badly needed aid and relief supplies have begun arriving in the hard to reach areas of the central Philippines one week after a super typhoon tore across the region. Philippine officials say the death toll now stands at 3,621, but admit it will likely rise.
The aftermath of the disaster has made it difficult to tally the number of victims. But on Friday, the government estimated 1.4 million people had been displaced and 400,000 of them are still in need of food and basic necessities.
But now, officials with the U.S. Embassy in Manila say there are significantly more places receiving the goods for distribution, compared to a day ago.
Deputy Chief of Mission Brian Goldbeck told reporters supply drops are being made in at least 16 locations in the worst-hit island provinces.
“So if you think of it as a hub-and-spoke arrangement those are being pushed out and then from those endpoints even more is being pushed out from there,” Goldbeck explained. ” I think there is good distribution now that is happening from many areas that we have not seen before.”
