UK sends six more aid planes to typhoon-hit Philippines

LONDON - Britain is to send six more plane-loads of aid to the Philippines to help survivors of a devastating typhoon, the government announced on Sunday.

The planes will carry thousands of tents, blankets, tarpaulins and cooking sets to the Philippines in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which has left more than 5,000 people dead and another 1,600 missing, according to government estimates.

The pledges came as Britain's International Development Secretary Justine Greening visited some of the areas worst hit by the typhoon, including the flattened city of Tacloban.

"While we can be proud that UK kit and personnel are making a difference in the immediate term, we will not stop here," she said in a statement released by her ministry.

The British government has pledged £50 million (S$101 million) to the relief effort and sent two warships, while Britons have donated an additional £57 million through the national Disasters Emergency Committee.

Greening said British aid would help the Philippines protect itself against future disasters as well as assisting women and girls, "who are often the ones who suffer disproportionally in the wake of crises like this".

Some £5 million of British aid will be invested in flood defences for four cities in the Philippines, while £3 million given through the United Nations and Red Cross will provide relief and safe shelter for female survivors.