The US military has ordered two amphibious ships to the Philippines to help victims of the devastating Typhoon Haiyan and a third was poised to deploy, officials said Tuesday, November 12. 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 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. General Paul Kennedy, who is leading a contingent of Marines that has arrived in the Philippines, requested the amphibious ships, a senior Marine Corps official told reporters.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama spoke to Philippine President Benigno Aquino IIITuesday, November 12 (Washington time) to express sorrow for the destruction left by Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda in the Philippines) and to coordinate US help. Obama expressed America’s “deep condolences for the lives lost and the damage caused” by the storm that is feared to have killed more than 10,000 people, his spokesman Jay Carney said.
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