(Transcript from World News Australia Radio)
The United States, Britain, Australia and the United Nations have mobilised emergency aid to the Philippines in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed one Australian man is amongst the dead, which is expected to number more than 10,000.
But the United Nations says the world should brace for a massive final death toll as the scale of the devastation unleashed by the storm continues to emerge.
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The United Nations estimates that almost 10 million people in the region have been affected by what is being called the Philippines' worst natural disaster on record.
Philippines President Benigno Aquino has declared a state of emergency.
"We declared today a state of national calamity in order to hasten the movements of the government on its rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts on the provinces affected by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). We did this, not only because we have to control the prices of goods and services that our people need, but also to avoid the over-pricing and hoarding of important products."
The UN says it is struggling to administer aid to affected areas,with approximately 660-thousand people displaced.
UN Humanitarian spokesman John Ging says it is taking hours to cover short distances in Tacloban and Leyte as debris has covered roads, docks and airstrips.
"Entire areas have been completely and utterly decimated so keeping those alive, as well as dealing with the corpses, they're concurrent priorities and already teams are on the ground dealing with that and more teams are on the way."
Philippine officials are said to be struggling to cope with the scale of death and destruction, with reports of violent looters and scarcity of food, drinking water and shelter.
Local journalist Froilan Gallardo has been reporting from Tacloban.
He's told SBS the region is in chaos.
"They don't have any agency to look after them, because there was a total breakdown of government services because the local government and police and army were also victims of the typhoon."
Mr Gallardo says the breakdown of authority has led to looting, with local shops and suppliers being ransacked.
And he says it's not just food and water that is being taken.
"They just ransack the stores. Unfortunately some of the looters are taking cash registers or TV sets or anything valuable. I don't think you can eat electric fans or air conditioning units."
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that a 49-year old Australian man has been killed.
A spokeswoman for the Department says the 24-hour consular emergency centre has been receiving hundreds of calls from concerned people enquiring about the whereabouts of Australians in the Philippines.
The United States has sent Marines and equipment, Britain will deploy a ship and a transporter plane, and Australia has committed ten million dollars in aid.
Even Vietnam, despite also experiencing a weakened Typhoon Haiyan on Monday, has provided emergency aid worth AU$100,000 to the Philippines.
The European Commission, Germany, Japan and New Zealand have also pledged monetary support while the international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres says it will send 200 tonnes of aid to arrive mid-week.
UN Human Rights spokesman Jens Laerke says at this stage, relief workers need everything.
"Some of the most urgent sectors are in terms of shelter: people have had their houses simply blown away. They need medical assistance, they need food, they need help with clearing roads and so on, they need logistics and they need water, drinking water, and they need sanitation and hygiene activities and relief."
The relief operation has focused on the city of Tacloban on Leyte island, but aid agencies are on a tight deadline with another storm predicted to hit the region this week.
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