TACLOBAN, Philippines – Order began to return Friday (November 15th) to storm-ravaged areas of the Philippines, as domestic and foreign relief operations scaled up both their assistance and security presence, AFP reported.

Philippine military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala said 15,000 troops had been deployed in storm-struck areas.

At Tacloban Domestic Airport, earlier the site of frenzied crowds seeking seats on any plane out of the devastated city, people waited patiently for their turn to board outbound flights.

"Things are looking very different here than they were when we arrived," said US Air Force Captain Jon Shamess of the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, which flew in from Okinawa on Tuesday to help secure the airport.

"Before, as soon as a plane landed, people were all rushing towards it trying to get on, which is obviously a very dangerous situation," Shamess said.

In Tacloban city, where a dusk-to-dawn curfew has been in force since Monday, police deployment swelled to around 1,200 on Friday, with reinforcements flown in from Manila, according to Wilben Mayor, spokesman for the Philippines national police chief.

Tacloban mayor Alfred Romualdez dismissed isolated incidents of shooting and looting as acts of "petty crime," saying they were to be expected given the disaster.

Spearheaded by a huge US mobilisation, ships and planes from Asia-Pacific nations and Europe are converging on the country, carrying food, water, medical supplies, tents and other essentials.

The US deployed a carrier strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, whose helicopters flew food and other relief supplies to the town of Guiuan on Friday.

Eight MV-22 Ospreys -- rotor planes that can take off and land like helicopters -- joined Marines, equipped with amphibious vehicles and 12 cargo planes, delivering food, water and other essentials. Additionally, eight more Ospreys, 1,000 Marines and 900 Navy sailors with amphibious ships will join in the coming days.

Great Britain, Japan, Australia, Belgium and other nations increased aid contributions through monetary donations or by sending additional heavy engineering equipment, helicopters, transport planes and forklift trucks.

China, which is locked in a territorial dispute with the Philippines, said Thursday that it would provide a further $1.6m of aid, mainly in tents and blankets. An initial response of a $100,000 government donation (matched by the Chinese Red Cross) drew widespread criticism.