The US military has ordered two amphibious ships to the Philippines to help victims of the devastating Typhoon Haiyan and a third is poised to deploy.
The move will ferry hundreds of US Marines to the storm-ravaged country as well as vehicles able to operate in flooded, debris strewn areas, officials said.
The US State Department has meanwhile confirmed two American fatalities from the storm which is feared to have claimed as many as 10,000 lives.
The USS Germantown and USS Ashland, amphibious warfare vessels designed to transport and launch landing craft and vehicles, have been ordered to depart for the Philippines from the southern Japanese port of Sasebo, said a Navy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The ships will get under way from Sasebo shortly," the Navy official told AFP.
Another vessel, the USS Denver, an amphibious transport dock ship, had been placed on standby to prepare to deploy as well, officials said.
All three have landing decks that can serve helicopters as well as medical facilities and the capability to produce desalinated water.
The American military has a team of 243 Marines on the ground in hard-hit Tacloban on Leyte island to carry out an initial assessment of humanitarian needs.
The US military presence "will be growing every day," said the Marine Corps official, adding that it will likely expand to about 1,500 to 2,000 troops in coming days.
Washington had already ordered urgent emergency efforts in response to the massive typhoon, which has destroyed entire coastal communities.
On Monday evening, the Pentagon announced it was dispatching the aircraft carrier George Washington and its accompanying cruisers and destroyers, including its fleet of 11 helicopters and dozens of planes.
The carrier group is due to arrive on Thursday or Friday.
Another naval destroyer and a supply ship are also en route to the Philippines.
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