Updated 3 a.m. ET Nov. 14, 2013
TACLOBAN, Philippines Aircraft from the carrier USS George Washington have started flying desperately needed supplies to the areas of the Philippines decimated by Typhoon Haiyan, the U.S. Marines said Thursday.
The vessel was expected to arrive in the Philippines later Thursday, according to Marine Col. John Peck, the chief of staff for the commander of the U.S. military aid efforts in the Philippines, Gen. Paul Kennedy.
This, as Filipino soldiers sat atop trucks distributing rice and water on Thursday in this typhoon-devastated city and chainsaw- wielding teams cut debris from blocked roads, small signs that a promised aid effort is beginning to pick up pace even as thousands flocked the airport, desperate to leave.
The first C-130 transport planes arrived at 3 a.m. at Tacloban airport, the first nighttime flight
since the typhoon struck on Friday, suggesting air control systems are now in place for a 24-7 operation - a prerequisite for the massive relief operation needed.
22 PhotosTyphoon victims begin long road to recoveryFood, water and medical supplies from the U.S., Malaysia and Singapore sat on pallets along the tarmac.
Military officials were among the thousands waiting outside the airport trying to get their families out.
"My family has nothing to eat, and we have no place to stay," said Sgt. William Escala. We cannot bear the stench. The kids are getting sick."
While the cogs of what promises to be a massive international aid effort are beginning to turn, it is still not quick enough for the 600,000 people displaced, many of them homeless, hungry and thirsty, their livelihoods destroyed.
Much of the aid - and the staff needed to distribute it - is stuck in Manila and the nearby airport of Cebu, a 45-minute flight away.
Play VideoTyphoon Haiyan: Dire situation for hard-hit Tacloban, PhilippinesEarlier, mobs overran a rice warehouse on the island worst hit by the Philippine typhoon, setting off a wall collapse that killed eight people and carting off thousands of sacks of the grain, while security forces Wednesday exchanged gunfire with an armed gang.
The incidents in or close to the storm-ravaged city hosting international relief efforts add to concerns about the
slow pace of aid distribution and that parts of the disaster zone are descending into chaos.
Five long days after Typhoon Haiyan wasted the eastern seaboard of the Philippines, the cogs of what promises to be a massive international aid effort are beginning to turn, but not quickly enough for the estimated 600,000 people displaced, many of them homeless, hungry and thirsty.
"There's a bit of a logjam to be absolutely honest getting stuff in here," said U.N. staffer Sebastian Rhodes Stampa against the roar of a C-130 transport plane landing behind him at the airstrip in Tacloban, one of the hardest-hit cities.
Play VideoTyphoon Haiyan survivors desperate for help"It's almost all in country - either in Manila or in Cebu, but it's not here. We're going to have a real challenge with logistics in terms of getting things out of here, into town, out of town, into the other areas," he said. "The reason for that essentially is that there are no trucks, the roads are all closed."
CBS News correspondent Seth Doane reported from Tacloban that, with no clean drinking water in sight, some people tapped into an underground pipe just so they could fill up containers.
"We don't know if it's safe," one man said. "We'll need to boil it, but at least we have something."
Jaimie Fernandez lost his home. There is very little left for him and his family to live on. "We can't buy food or get food from other stores," Fernandez told CBS News, "because there are no stores to buy them in."
Typhoon Haiyan recovery: How you can help 62 PhotosPowerful typhoon slams PhilippinesPlanes, ships and trucks were all on their way to the region, loaded with generators, water purifying kits and emergency lights - vital equipment needed to sustain a major relief mission. Airports were reopening in the region, and the U.S. military said it was installing equipment to allow the damaged Tacloban aiport to operate 24-7.
"The priority has got to be, let's get the food in, let's get the water in. We got a lot more come in today, but even that won't be enough. We really need to scale up operation in an ongoing basis," U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos told reporters after touring Talcoban, the capital of Leyte province. Her office has released $25 million in emergency relief fund, accounting for a chunk of the millions of dollars pledged by countries around the world.
An aerial view shows signs for help and food amid the destruction left from Typhoon Haiyan in the coastal town of Tanawan, Philippines, Nov. 13, 2013.
/ AP Photo
Tacloban's mayor, Alfred Romualdez, urged residents to flee the city because local authorities were having trouble providing food and water and maintaining order,
The New York Times reported. He said the city was in desperate need of trucks to distribute relief shipments that were accumulating at the city's airport as well as equipment to pull decaying corpses from the rubble.
Eight people were crushed to death when the mob stormed a rice warehouse around 15 miles from Tacloban on Tuesday and carried off thousands of sacks of grain, according to National Food Authority spokesman Rex Estoperez.
A man takes a shower amid rubble in an area badly affected by Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, Philippines, Nov. 13, 2013.
/ AP Photo
Play VideoTyphoon reunion: Inside father's extraordinary journey to find kinOn Wednesday, gunfire broke out close to the city's San Juanico bridge on Wednesday between security forces and armed men, but the circumstances were unclear, according to footage on local TV.
Since the storm, people have broken into homes, malls and garages, where they have stripped the shelves of food, water and other goods. Authorities have struggled to stop the looting. There have been unconfirmed reports of armed gangs of robbers operating in a systematic manner.
An 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew was in place across the region. Despite incidents, police said the situation was improving.
"We have restored order," said Carmelo Espina Valmoria, director of the Philippine National Police special action force. "There has been looting for the last three days, but the situation has stabilized."
Play VideoTyphoon Haiyan aid effort hindered by damaged infrastructureThe death toll rose to 2,357, according a national tally kept by the disaster agency. That figure is expected to rise, perhaps significantly, when accurate information is collected from the whole disaster zone, which spreads over a wide swath of the eastern and central Philippines but appears to be concentrated on two main islands - Leyte and Samar. On Wednesday, the State Department said that 23 U.S. citizens have been transported to Manila via military aircraft, CBS News reported.
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