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In this
photo released by the US Marine Corps, Marines load equipment onto
an aircraft
on November 11, 2013 at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, in Okinawa,
Japan, in
preparation for a humanitarian and disaster relief mission to the Philippines
(US Marines/AFP, David N. Hersey)
|
Washington
— The United States said Monday it was providing $20 million in humanitarian
aid as well as additional troops to help out in the Philippines after the
devastating hit of Typhoon Haiyan.
Four MV-22B
Ospreys -- aircraft that can operate in difficult environments -- and three
KC-130J Hercules planes headed to the disaster zones from Japan, the US Marine
Corps said in a statement.
On board
were some 90 marines and sailors tasked with helping a humanitarian assistance
survey team of around 90 US soldiers already on the ground in the wake of
Typhoon Haiyan, which killed thousands of people when it flattened entire towns
just days ago.
The United
Nations said it fears more than 10,000 people were killed in the city of
Tacloban alone, and warned it was "expecting the worst" for the final
body count.
US Marines
who arrived in the city of Tacoblan earlier Monday to deliver emergency
supplies expressed shock at the devastation.
"Everything's
destroyed," said Brigadier General Paul Kennedy, the commanding general of
the Okinawa-based 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade.
 |
In this
photo released by the US Marine Corps, Marines secure gear onto a
pallet on
November 10, 2013 at the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma during
preparation
for a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission to the
Philippines
(US Marines/AFP/File, David N. Hersey)
|
Secretary
of State John Kerry said the US government was "organizing emergency
shipments of critically-needed material to provide shelter to the hundreds of
thousands of Filipinos driven from their homes," in addition to food and
hygiene supplies.
To support
these projects, the State Department said Monday the US humanitarian agency
USAID was allocating some $20 million in emergency aid.
Kerry also
said the State Department was working with the NGO Team Rubicon to deploy a
group of veterans to the region.
"I
want to assure the people of the Philippines and the many Americans of Filipino
heritage that we are working as hard as possible to provide essential
assistance to help the Philippine people and their government recover from this
tragedy," Kerry said.
Since 1990,
the US government has responded to more than 40 disasters in the Philippines,
according to the Pentagon.
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