The U.S.S. George Washington aircraft carrier has arrived in the Philippine Sea near the Gulf of Leyte, to assist in the relief effort following last week's deadly typhoon.

It will set up a position off the coast to assess the damage and provide medical and water supplies. The carrier and its strike group bring 21 helicopters to the region. They can reach the most inaccessible areas.

Desperately needed aid is starting to reach some of the hundreds of thousands of people in the Philippines who were displaced by the typhoon.

Philippine soldiers on trucks were distributing rice and water today, as crews with chain saws removed debris from blocked roads.

BURYING THE DEAD

About 100 Filipinos killed in last Friday's typhoon have been buried near Tacloban, the central city hardest-hit by the storm. Dozens more bodies are lined up at City Hall, waiting to be taken to burial sites.

Six days after the typhoon struck, many of the dead are still lying along roads and survivors are searching rubble for more victims.

TYPHOON AID

Japan says its pledging $10 million and sending about 1,000 troops to the Philippines following the deadly typhoon.

Australia is giving $28 million and the US is giving $20 million.

China, the world's second-largest economy, has pledged less than $2 million in cash and materials. China's reluctance to give more is driven by a bitter feud with Manila over overlapping claims in the South China Sea.

 

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