US aircraft carrier to help in relief distribution

A US aircraft carrier set sail for the Philippines yesterday to accelerate relief efforts in areas ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda, which left thousands dead and scores missing.

The crew of the USS George Washington, which carries 5,000 sailors and more than 80 aircraft, were recalled early from shore leave in Hong Kong where it left at about 1 p.m. 

Four other US Navy ships also set sail for the disaster zone.

The nuclear-powered George Washington should arrive in two to three days, the Pentagon said.

“The weather is pretty bad out there, so we are limited by seas and wind,” said Captain Thomas Disy, commander of the USS Antietam, a missile cruiser that is part of the carrier group. “But we are going to be going as fast as we possibly can.”

Also with the carrier group are USS Cowpens and the destroyer USS Mustin. Supply ship USNS Charles Drew is en route to rendezvous with the carrier group.

In Washington, US Secretary of State John Kerry assured Filipinos and many Americans of Filipino descent that the US was working as hard as possible to provide essential assistance to typhoon victims and to help the Philippine government recover from the tragedy.

“The US government is organizing emergency shipments of critically needed material to provide shelter to the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos driven from their homes by this unprecedented typhoon. We are also organizing emergency shipments of food and hygiene supplies to thousands of families,” he said in a statement.

Philippine officials have been overwhelmed by the scale of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), one of the strongest on record, which tore a path through islands in the central Philippines on Friday.

About 660,000 people have been displaced and many have no access to food, water or medicine, the United Nations said.

Rescue workers were trying to reach towns and villages on Tuesday that have been cut off, which could reveal the full extent of the loss of life and devastation from the disaster.

The arrival of the US carrier and its aircraft will accelerate the distribution of aid and ensure more injured survivors can be evacuated.

The 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force based in Okinawa, Japan has also sent four MV-22B Ospreys and three KC-130J Hercules with 180 marines and sailors.

“The Defense Department is continuing to work closely with the Philippine government to determine what, if any, additional assets may be required,” the US embassy in Manila said.

Another US aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, led a massive aid operation off Indonesia’s Aceh province in the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.

Britain is also sending a navy warship with equipment to make drinking water from seawater and a military transport aircraft, Prime Minister David Cameron said.   â€“ With Pia Lee-Brago, Alexis Romero