Rescuers battle to get aid to Philippine victims Survivors became increasingly desperate in the typhoon-ravaged Philippines, with aid struggling to reach victims as foreign governments and aid agencies escalated their response to the disaster. As the area was lashed by further heavy rain on Tuesday, the US announced it would send the aircraft carrier USS George Washington from Hong Kong, the UK dispatched a destroyer from Singapore, and the UN released $25m in aid and said it would launch an appeal for the victims of typhoon Haiyan. The official death toll rose to 1,774 but officials have estimated 10,000 people died and 660,000 were left homeless by Friday's devastating winds and storm surges. The UN said 9.8m people were affected by the typhoon. Various governments have promised tens of millions of dollars in aid, the International Red Cross Red Crescent said it needed $94.6m and 14 UK-based charities grouped under the Disasters Emergency Committee have also launched an appeal. Rescue workers have compared the devastation to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Richard Gordon, the chairman of the Philippines Red Cross, said: "It's a scene of utter devastation. Many people have lost their homes and are in desperate need of food, shelter and water. It will be a long road to recovery. Many remote areas have yet to be reached and so the full impact is still unknown. Amid shortages of relief supplies and medicine, looting continued in some areas as desperate survivors scrabbled for food. Tacloban, a city of about 220,000 people on Leyte island that is now a tangled graveyard of flattened houses, cars and trees, bore the full force of the winds and the tsunami-like storm surges. Wrecked shopping centres and grocery stores are still being looted as order has collapsed in many areas. Officials said only 20 of the city's 235 police officers had reported for duty. People flocked to the city's airport to try and get on the C-130 military transport planes that were flying supplies and troops into the city. Many were left disappointed on the runway. I was pleading with the soldiers. I was kneeling and begging because I have diabetes," said Helen Cordial, whose house was destroyed in the storm. Do they want me to die in this airport? They are stone-hearted. Hold-up incidents are also occurring in the northwestern port city of Ormoc, targeting arriving ferry passengers, according to energy secretary Jericho Petilla, a former governor of Leyte Province, which comprises most of the island. On Saturday, Ormoc City was still under control. Now there is no control,"" Mr Petilla was heard telling a military officer at the Tacloban's airport. Local doctors said they were desperate for medicines. Beside the ruined airport tower, at a small makeshift clinic with shattered windows, army and air force medics said they had treated around 1,000 people since the typhoon for cuts, bruises, lacerations, deep wounds. "It's overwhelming,"" said Air Force Capt. Antonio Tamayo. We need more medicine. We cannot give anti-tetanus vaccine shots because we have none."" The dead, decomposing and stinking litter the streets or remain trapped in the debris. At a small naval base, eight swollen corpses - including that of a baby - were submerged in water brought in by the storm. Officers had yet to move them, saying they had no body bags or electricity to preserve them.