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Aid Heads To Philippines But Can't Reach Hardest-Hit Areas

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Frustration and desperation in the Philippines. Eleven million survivors are living among piles of debris and bodies. Truckloads of aid are arriving in the islands but the trucks can't reach the hardest-hit areas.

Kai Jackson has more on the far-reaching impact.

The world is uniting to get aid to the devastated areas of the Philippines. Yet for those suffering, that help can't come fast enough.

The powerful typhoon that struck the Philippines damaged or destroyed an estimated 23,000 homes and left some 600,000 people with no place to live. Many of those who died remain unburied.

"This woman says rescuers have not come back in days and asks why haven't they returned to recover the bodies?" said a translator.

The president of the Philippines offered hope that the death toll may be lower than first thought.

"Ten thousand I think is too much," said President Benigno Aquino. "The figure I have right now is about 2,000 but this might still get higher.

Severe food and water shortages are adding to the crisis. Organizations like the Red Cross and Team Rubicon are beginning to arrive. That help is desperately needed because doctors say they are running low on medicine.

"We're gonna go as fast as we possibly can and as soon as we can to help the people in need," said Captain Thomas Disy.

And more U.S. military help is coming. The George Washington Strike Group is on its way from Hong Kong.

Help is arriving from around the world, including a fundraising effort in Baltimore County.

"You feel helpless. You cannot control what is happening; you can only control what you can do," said Pikesville-Owings Mills Rotary Club President Sonia Neumeier.

You can help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. Catholic Relief Services is taking your donations right now. Call 1-877-HELP-CRS or log onto their website.

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