Aid workers in the Philippines have described the situation as bleak, one week after a devastating typhoon swept through the centre of the country.
About 11 million people across the country's islands have been affected by Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded, which hit the coastal provinces of Leyte and Samar on 8 November.
Tens of thousands of survivors are still desperate for help, but it is unclear how many have died.
The Interior Secretary of the Philippines has told the BBC that the official number of fatalities is almost 3500, despite officials in Tacloban estimating 4000 people have been killed there alone.
People are walking the streets in Tacloban, a big fish port and major economic hub, begging for food, water and medicine, a BBC correspondent reports.
The aid operation shifted into a higher gear with the arrival of the American aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which headed an eight-strong flotilla of US vessels that arrived at eastern Samar province on Thursday.
Ships from the flotilla carried 11 pallets of water and food ashore at Tacloban airport Several pallets of water were taken to Guiuan, home to home to 45,000 people, which was also badly hit. Some boats are bearing badly needed equipment, supplies and expertise for the thousands left homeless and hungry.
The government of Benigno Aquino has been under pressure to speed up the distribution of food, water and medicine to desperate typhoon survivors.
UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said the scale of the disaster and the logistical challenges it posed meant some places still remained without help.
Ms Amos told Radio New Zealand's Morning Report programme on Friday the government in Manila has come under fire, but many of its staff have lost family members and been badly affected by the disaster.
"People are traumatised, they're not necessarily able to report for work."
Ms Amos said there are not yet enough trucks and fuel on the ground. "Aid and support which is absolutely valuable if we're going to scale up in the way required so that in the next couple of days there's a step change in our response and our support for the people on the ground."
Ships and planes from Asia-Pacific nations and Europe are also converging on the Philippines, bearing food, water, medical supplies, tents and other essentials to a population in need of the basics of life, AFP reports.
Britain dispatched the biggest vessel in its fleet, a helicopter carrier, while heavy transport planes carrying equipment such as forklift trucks have already arrived.
But on the ground, the meagre aid that was getting through was still inadequate, with distribution hampered by fears of armed looters and by broken infrastructure.
NZ Hercules arrives
A New Zealand Defence Force Hercules landed in the Philippines on Friday night with aid for distribution to some of the areas worst-hit by the typhoon.
New Zealand's ambassador to the Philippines, Reuben Levermore, said the C130 was off-loading supplies including water bottles, tarpaulins and chainsaw kits in Cebu.
"All of those things are very important in the initial stages," Mr Levermore said.
Squadron Leader Steve Thornley said the Hercules was carrying 5.6 tonnes of aid and disaster relief supplies and would on Saturday return to Darwin to pick up a further four tonnes of emergency supplies, including tents, water containers and face masks.
"Our priority is to support the efforts by the Philippines Government and international community to provide aid and shelter to those hardest hit by the typhoon," he said.
Mr Levermore said New Zealand had been liaising with Filipino authorities to ensure that what was supplied provided practical assistance to the people who most needed it.
The New Zealand embassy was also working to contact New Zealanders in typhoon-ravaged areas and was staying in close contact with aid workers there, he said.
Only a handful of New Zealanders were believed to be in the disaster zone and work was continuing to account for them.
"We send out notifications to those New Zealanders that are registered on our safe travel register and, in the case of those New Zealanders that are in affected areas that we know of and haven't been able to contact, we're maintaining efforts to try and get in touch with them," he said.
Manila escaped the worst of the typhoon but the scenes emerging in severely damaged parts of the Philippines were causing anguish among embassy staff, many of whom had family or friends there, Mr Levermore said.
