There are also reports of lawlessness and with my SO wanting to go over there, worries me quite a bit. But it is her calling in life to help others and there is no changing her mind if she gets the opportunity with a relief agency.

An almost complete breakdown of law and order in Tacloban City, where "Super" Typhoon Haiyan caused devastating damage after it struck on Friday, is being seen as an ominous sign of what may follow elsewhere in the Philippines.
The total death toll from what is thought to have been the most violent storm ever to strike land is now expected to rise well above 10,000 - the number estimated to have perished on one island alone.
Three days after Haiyan roared across a huge swathe of the central Philippines, there is still no word from tens of thousands of people living on the islands that bore the full brunt of the typhoon's fury.
But in Tacloban City, the capital of Leyte Island province where local officials believe as many as 10,000 have perished, aid convoys are being raided and shops stripped of everything remaining on their shelves by starving survivors.

I see you're back, Teslinhiker, though you said you'd stay away. Well, I'd like to welcome you back, since you have recognized that life just isn't the same without ETS!

Man, what a terrible tragedy. Much of the time tropic island life must be idyllic but when a mega-storm like this comes along there's nowhere to run to escape it.

one major problem is that there is no such thing as a "fast response international relief agency". despite what they may say - they all take weeks before they can become effective in a remote area. military response teams are probably the best short-term hope for those desperate people. let's hope that Asian nations pitch in with a major response.

Pete2

That is not entirely correct. Within hours of the aftermath of the typhoon, many agencies were in the process or had advance teams on the ground. Some were also delivering aid within hours, often at the risk of their lives. Furthermore many countries do not want any foreign military or government organizations in their country and will turn down assistance. Case in point, this typhoon is the first in recent months that the Philippine government has accepted UN humanitarian assistance

Orla Fagan, the public information officer at the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Philippines spoke with the Wall Street Journal about how the U.N. begins responding to disasters and how no amount of preparedness could have saved some parts of the country from such massive destruction.

WSJ: When a natural disaster of this scale hits a country, how do humanitarian organizations begin responding?

Ms. Fagan: When there is something this massive and this big, we’re guests of the government in the country. So we offer assistance and then the government welcomes the assistance or they don’t take the assistance. Since the 10th of August, this is the fourth typhoon [to hit the Philippines] and this is the first typhoon where they have welcomed the offer of assistance.

Military response teams are initially effective and provide needed heavy lift (air and sea) capability and muscle. However this is usually not long term and it is left up to the NGO's to keep the assistance going, often for months and years after the crisis is no longer in the daily news.

Quick update. My SO is heading to the Philippines via Japan on Thursday morning. Once in Japan, they will have a better idea where their NGO will be deployed which should be sometime during the weekend or Monday.

We have been watching the news very closely the last couple of days and there are a lot of desperate people who have had little or any food/water for 5 days now and this is leading to some serious security concerns for the various NGO aid agencies. Mind you, she is nowhere near worried as I am...

Looking at the few pictures that are getting out, the destruction is immense.

I am in awe of the people who are able to go in, on the ground, and help in a meaningful way.

To your SO, I say: good luck, and Godspeed.

Indeed, the destruction appears incredible, and hard to comprehend. A recent set of pictures on The Atlantic just blows my mind.

Even the areas that were high enough, or far enough inland to avoid being flooded by the storm surge were flattened by the wind.

Was just reading this article about Tacloban's main sports stadium where many people took refuge from the typhoon. Sounds like Tacloban's version of the Superdome after Katrina now. Six days in that fetid place and no relief in sight. How awful for these people!

More photos of the area one week after the typhoon.

A couple of the photos show the sports stadium. Apparently it is a stout structure, and provided an important refuge during the peak of the storm. Also pictures of USMC Ospreys doing good work. Sadly, also lots of pictures of many body bags being buried in mass graves.

One other report I read (can't find it now) said that in some ways aiding the typhoon survivors is a more challenging problem than was the case after the 2004 tsunami. After the tsunami, more inland areas that were above the reach of the waves were undamaged, and could provide aid and shelter to the survivors. In the case of this typhoon, even inland areas were severely damaged from the wind. Much of the country was damaged to some extent, and surrounding areas are much less able to help the worst hit region.