Some residents broke into grocery stores to find food. The government responded to reports of looting by sending in police reinforcement and a 500-member military battalion.

People were wading through waist-high water amid a landscape littered with overturned vehicles, downed utility poles and trees, all of which were blocking the aid effort.

With basically no medical supplies left, the city's St. Paul's hospital was hopelessly overwhelmed.

The Philippine Red Cross succeeded in getting its assessment team into Tacloban but had not managed to get its main team of aid workers and equipment to the city, Chairman Richard Gordon said.

"We really are having access problems," he said, adding that he was considering chartering a boat, which would take at least 1½ days to get there.

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