台风海燕肆虐菲律宾后转为热带风暴登陆越南

One of the fiercest typhoons ever recorded has devastated the central Philippines, leaving entire cities and towns in ruins and as many as 10,000 people dead. 

Aid groups are struggling to reach the hardest-hit areas where food and drinkable water are difficult to find. 

The United States and several other countries are sending supplies and rescue personnel to the region.  The first U.S. aid and military personnel flew Monday from Manila to Tacloban, one of the worst-hit areas.

The aid effort is being hampered by looting, as mobs not only grabbed food and water from stores, but also took consumer items like TVs, washing machines and refrigerators.

The fast-moving storm slammed into Leyte Island from the east on Friday.  By Sunday, as the scale of the destruction became clear, Philippine authorities said it is near certain the death toll will rise substantially. President Benigno Aquino declared a region-wide state of calamity.

By early Monday, the storm began losing strength as it came ashore in Vietnam's northern Quang Ninh province and was downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall.  Forecasters expect it to weaken to a low depression later in the day in southern China.