Gasoline Supply Scarce in Southern Leyte

Some gas stations in Maasin City in Southern Leyte have closed down after gasoline supply ran out, Gma news online reported. News report added

Southern Leyte Governor Roger Mercado has said replenishment may come on Wednesday.

Report said despite the lack of supply, the situation in the city remains peaceful as military personnel are monitoring the security in Southern Leyte.

Reports added the province suffered no casulaties, even if it was along the path of super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) that unleashed 235 kph winds upon landfall Friday last week in Eartern Visayas.

Maasin City’s local government are now accepting relief goods to be distributed to nearby areas, including Tacloban and Ormoc, Gma news online said. The province serve as a drop-off point of relief goods.

The online news reported on Monday hundreds of soldiers and police poured into typhoon-hit Tacloban City to contain the looting that threatens emergency relief effort in the area.

Earlier, foreign news agencies has reported more than 10,000 people were feared dead when one of the strongest storms on record sent tsunami-like waves and brutal winds tearing across large swathes of the Philippine archipelago last Friday, with the city of Tacloban as one of the worst-hit areas, Gma news online report said. Rescue workers were struggling to deliver needed aid to thousands of hungry and homeless survivors in Tacloban, a city of 220,000 residents and the capital of Leyte province, Gma news online reported.

Meanwhile, the United States reportedly send aircraft carrier USS George Washington to the Philippines to support disaster relief operations in the wake of super typhoon Yolanda, says a US defense official according to Gma news online on Tuesday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the online news said, the official could not immediately provide further details.

Reports said the aircraft carrier has been on a port visit to Hong Kong. The nuclear-powered Washington, based in Yokosuka, Japan, is the most visible sign of an increased U.S. naval presence across Asia that has been steadily growing for the last five years – a key element in the controversial U.S. “pivot”, Gma news online said.

The online report said the Washington strike group – that often includes destroyers, cruisers and a fast-attack submarine backed by up to 90 aircraft – protects the only one of 10 carriers deployed permanently outside the continental United States.

Officials said U.S. military forces arrived in the Philippines on Monday to bolster relief efforts with military cargo planes transporting food, medical supplies and water for victims.

Other U.S. aircraft were positioning to assist the Philippines, with U.S. forces operating out of Villamor Air Base in Manila and in Tacloban, Gma news online reported.

Source: Gma news online