Relief supplies reach remote communities in Philippines following typhoon Haiyan November 18, 2013 Gift from above: Stranded villagers scramble for aid from a US Navy helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS George Washington. After days of logistical logjams and transportation paralysis, relief supplies have begun pouring into the ravaged mid-section of the Philippines. But while hard-hit urban areas are finally getting supplies to stave off hunger and thirst, the region's rural hinterland has been largely left to fend for itself in the week since typhoon Haiyan barrelled through with winds up to 300km/h. Perhaps most desperate are the far-flung islets whose residents already live from hand to mouth. On Saturday, members of a US medical team touched down in Homonhon, a fishing island of 1500 that was the first to bear the full brunt of Haiyan. Margaret Aguirre, from the International Medical Corps, said it was the first help the residents had received since the storm struck. "They were in desperate shape," she said, describing a range of untreated injuries and diseases, mostly advanced infections. Henry Afable, the mayor of the coastal town of Maydolong, said he had secured only enough food for 400 of the town's 13,000 people. He said the lone delivery, by a US Navy helicopter, turned into a debacle after it landed unannounced in a playing field next to the local school. The result was a brutal free-for-all.