More than a week after Super Typhoon Haiyan made landfall, wreaking unprecedented damage and killing thousands, the total death toll from one of the most powerful typhoons recorded, is still unknown.

Typhoon Haiyan survivors walk through the ruins of their neighborhood on the outskirts of Tacloban, central Philippines on November 13, 2013. David Guttenfelder/AP

In a two-minute video, CNN International rounded up the situation, 19 million people affected, 4 million of them children, 2 and a half million people desperate for food and clean water. Aid poured in from around the world. Nations have scrambled to deliver aid and assistance to the Philippines.

By day 5 one local official estimated that only 20% of victims in the hard hit city of Tacloban had been reached. The UN estimates that the area needs 3 million US dollars immediate relief, but it will take years for the area to fully recover, and there is one number that officials still do not know, the final death toll for typhoon Haiyan.. one week since the storm came ashore, they are still counting.

For more trending news and updates, like us on Facebook follow us on Twitter add us to your circle in Google+ and we will keep you posted directly on your news feeds.

As international donations pouring in for typhoon-stricken Philippines,  the Philippine government also receives endless criticism mainly from international media organizations like the CNN and BBC.

CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper said there’s no evidence of organized relief and rescue operation around Tacloban. “I haven’t seen much of relief effort, I haven’t seen a large military presence,” he said.

Cooper compared the Philippine’s response to the Japanese government when their country was hit by strong earthquake in 2011.

See report: Korina Sanchez Slams CNN Reporter Anderson Cooper’s Report in Tacloban 

In a separate coverage, BBC news correspondent Don Donnison also reported that “there does not seem to be an effective operation to get help to those in need.”

“That there is little sign that the government is managing to get aid out to the many in need in Tacloban,” he added.

A reporter from the Associated Press who drove around Tacloban for around 4 miles Wednesday reported that “no evidence of any organized delivery of food, water or medical supplies, though piles of aid have begun to arrive at the airport.”

A report from the New York Times said a team from Médecins Sans Frontières, complete with medical supplies who arrived in Cebu island last Saturday have been looking for a flight to Tacloban up to Tuesday but was informed that Tacloban airport is only for the Philippines military use.

Meanwhile, United Nations Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos also expressed dismay for people of Visayas, she called for better coordination in the relief work.

"What we're doing now, we just need more of it: more supplies, more people on the ground, better coordination."

"I was in Tacloban yesterday. The city is totally devastated. It was terrible to see thousands of people at the airport hoping to leave. People in the city are concerned they have not yet had food or water," she said.

"It hasn't moved fast enough.”

Your views and opinion? Join us in the discussion below.

For more trending news and updates, like us on Facebook follow us on Twitter add us to your circle in Google+ and we will keep you posted directly on your news feeds.

The Philippines’ delegate to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Warsaw, Poland, Yeb Sano, has delivered an emotional plea on Monday.

In tears, Yeb Sano broke down at the conference and spoke of his agonizing wait for news of his relatives, Sano also said he was speaking on behalf of those who lost their lives in the storm.

“I struggle to find words even for the images that we see on the news coverage. And I struggle to find words to describe how I feel about the losses and damages we have suffered from this cataclysm,” his voice continued to crack as he described his country’s current state.

“I speak for my delegation, but I speak for the countless people who will no longer be able to speak for themselves after perishing from the storm. I also speak for those who have been orphaned by the storm. I speak for the people now racing against time to save survivors and alleviate the suffering of the people affected.”

He continued, “We can take drastic action now to ensure that we prevent a future where super typhoons as a way of life. Because we refuse, as a nation, to accept a future where super typhoons like Haiyan become a fact of life. We refuse to accept that running away from storms, evacuating our families, suffering the devastation and misery, having to count our dead, become a way of life. We simply refuse to.”

His speech brought tears to the eyes of other delegates and a standing ovation.



China proposed three minutes of silence in memory of the victims. Delegates stood, some with tears in their eyes as they reflected on the scale of human loss in the super storm.

Yeb Sano also thanked the people of Poland, "In the midst of this tragedy, the delegation of the Philippines is comforted by the warm hospitality of Poland, with your people offering us warm smiles everywhere we go. Hotel staff and people on the streets, volunteers and personnel within the National Stadium have warmly offered us kind words of sympathy. So, thank you Poland."

As Sano addressed the opening session of the UN climate change summit in Warsaw, International aid is pouring in for the Philippines.  27 countries, as well as the European Union have so far pledged assistance to the Philippines amounting to billions of pesos.

For more trending news and updates, like us on Facebook follow us on Twitter add us to your circle in Google+ and we will keep you posted directly on your news feeds.