MANILA, Philippines — The U.S. military trucked in supplies and marshaled helicopters and Navy ships as the Philippines struggled with the aftermath of back-to-back storms that have left more than 600 dead.
After pulling six people from landslides late Thursday and early Friday, Filipino rescuers said they remained hopeful of locating more survivors in the stricken north of the country, but retrieved only bodies Saturday.
With roads blocked and bridges washed away, the Philippine government’s resources have been stretched thin. Officials have asked U.S. troops in the country for an annual military exercise to extend relief operations.
Troops from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in Okinawa, Japan, had just finished rescue and cleanup work around the Manila, which experienced the worst flooding in over four decades after Tropical Storm Ketsana dumped record rains Sept. 26. That disaster displaced about 1 million people and killed 337 in the capital and surrounding provinces. More than 287,000 remain in evacuation centers.
Then Typhoon Parma struck Oct. 3 and has lingered as a tropical depression for about a week, also over the main northern Philippine island of Luzon. It has dumped more heavy rains, triggering floods and landslides that have killed at least 276 people, most of them in the last two days. It has displaced about 170,000 people.
Marine Capt. Jorge Escatell, a U.S. military spokesman, said troops have trucked tons of U.N. food aid from Manila to a Philippine military camp in northern Tarlac province for distribution today to victims of Typhoon Parma.
Marine CH-46 helicopters have also flown over the flooded region to assess the damage and find locations for a medical mission and food distribution. Heavy equipment also will be brought in to help clear roads littered with debris, Escatell said.
Also, about 200 U.S. Marines and sailors are on standby to help in the relief mission. They are aboard two Navy ships, USS Harpers Ferry and the USS Tortuga, off Pangasinan province, and in a Philippine military camp just south of the Cordillera mountains on Luzon.
Escatell said the U.S. troops were weary but still enthusiastic for their humanitarian mission.
“This is what we trained for,” he said. “We are tired … but it’s well worth it, especially when you see the smile on the children’s faces when we come to people that need medical attention or just need some kind of support.”
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