In Philippines, Aid Groups Struggle to Reach Hard-Hit Zones

Aid workers were still unable to reach many typhoon-hit parts of the Philippines Tuesday as another heavy tropical weather system made landfall, NBC News reports.

The national disaster agency said it had confirmed 1,774 deaths from Typhoon Haiyan, but emergency officials and humanitarian groups estimated the toll will exceed 10,000, with millions more affected by the destruction.

“What worries us is there are so many areas that we have no information from, and when we have this silence this usually means that the damage is even worse,” said Joseph Curry, Philippines representative for Catholic Relief Services.

Relief agencies are rushing staff and supplies to the country, but some devastated zones are reachable only by boat or helicopter and many lack electricity and cellphone connections, The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times write. The Disasters Emergency Committee, a coalition of 14 major U.K. aid charities, announced a major fundraising appeal, reports the BBC.