Philippine President Benigno Aquino declared a state of calamity to speed aid to communities ravaged by super Typhoon Haiyan, which may have killed more than 10,000 people, as a lesser storm approached the nation.
The government has 18.7 billion pesos ($429 million) to fund reconstruction after Haiyan unleashed storm surges and gale-force winds that caused vast destruction, Aquino said yesterday in a televised address. Today, a fresh storm threatening the southern Philippines may pass through some areas battered by Haiyan.
The devastation may harm the economy, the government said, sending the peso and stocks weaker yesterday. The storm affected almost 9.7 million people, according to authorities, and 22 countries have pledged assistance. Soldiers were dispatched to prevent looting as survivors scoured for food.
“In the coming days, be assured: help will reach you faster and faster,” Aquino said. “The delivery of food, water and medicines to the most heavily affected areas is at the head of our priorities.”
Haiyan slammed into the central Philippines on Nov. 8, knocking down buildings and trees, flattening crops and destroying an airport. In Tacloban city, the capital of Leyte province, television images from the city showed bodies on the streets and floating in the sea, homes reduced to rubble, structures with their roofs ripped off and roads blocked by felled trees.
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