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United Nations humanitarian chief Valerie Amos has said aid is not reaching survivors of Typhoon Haiyan quickly enough. Ms Amos is UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. She spoke to reporters in Manila yesterday and explained how urgent it was to act more quickly. She said: " situation is dismal. Those who have been able to leave have done so. Many more are trying. People are extremely desperate for help." She added: "We need to get assistance to them now. They are already saying it has taken too long to arrive. Ensuring faster delivery is our immediate priority." Early efforts at providing assistance were hampered by continuing bad weather.

Typhoon Haiyan is possibly strongest on record to make landfall. Meteorologists say violent storm packed winds of up to 315kph. It is believed over 10,000 people perished in city of Tacloban alone. Hundreds of thousands are now homeless after typhoon flattened almost everything in its path. New York Times reported there being "typhoon gridlock" as destroyed infrastructure is making logistics of distributing aid nightmare. People are desperate for water. Doctors Without Borders charity said: "Access is extremely difficult and is preventing people from receiving help." Christian Aid said: " devastation here is unimaginable."