The U.S. Navy arrived with a mammoth aircraft carrier Thursday to bring much-needed aid to hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who have gone without food and clean water for nearly a week.
The Navy cut short the shore leave of the crew of 5,500 to send it on the relief mission to the area ripped apart last week by Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest cyclones on record.
Its winds, 3.5 times as strong as those of hurricane Katrina, pushed in a wall of water 15 feet high, washing away towns on many islands in the south of the country.
Seven more ships accompanied the carrier USS George Washington. All total, they have about 80 aircraft on board that could participate in search, surveillance and distribution missions, said Paul Macapagal, a Navy spokesman.
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/14/world/asia/typhoon-haiyan/
