US Navy personnel deliver relief goods in Ormoc, Leyte to survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan on Monday (November 18th). Internationally provided food and medical supplies began reaching isolated towns rendered inaccessible by the storm Saturday. [Noel Celis/AFP]

GIPORLOS, Philippines – The first food and medical aid began reaching isolated towns devastated by the typhoon that killed thousands in the Philippines on Saturday (November 16th), as humanitarian groups warned of huge challenges in accessing hundreds of small island communities, AFP reported.

The unprecedented ferocity of Super Typhoon Haiyan on November 8th and the scale of destruction it caused completely overwhelmed the initial relief effort, leaving millions in the worst-hit islands of Leyte and Samar hurt, homeless and hungry, with no power or water.

Eight days later, a working aid pipeline was in place on the ground, funnelling emergency supplies to those left destitute in the ruins of Tacloban, while helicopters flying off the aircraft carrier USS George Washington brought relief to outlying areas.

In Giporlos, where the typhoon first struck, a US Seahawk helicopter flew in the first relief supplies Saturday, landing in the playground of a ruined elementary school.

The Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders said they would have mobile surgical units up and running in Tacloban.

"The place really needs to be saturated with relief," Red Cross Asia-Pacific spokesman Patrick Fuller said. "People literally have nothing. Money is useless here."

The US military said it had delivered 118 tonnes of food, water and shelter items and airlifted nearly 2,900 people to safety between the arrival of the USS George Washington late Thursday and Saturday.

Japan confirmed Saturday it would send almost 1,200 troops to join relief efforts along with three warships, ten planes and six helicopters.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Saturday put the official death toll at 3,633.

Another 1,179 people were listed as missing and nearly 12,500 injured, and the death toll was widely expected to continue climbing as more complete assessments were made.

The UN reported that 4,460 had been confirmed dead, and said Saturday that 2.5 million people still "urgently" required food assistance.

An estimated 13 million people were affected by the storm, including nearly 1.9 million displaced survivors.