Typhoon survivor gives birth to baby girl in storm-ravaged airport in Philippines
TACLOBAN, Philippines Cheers broke out Monday in the typhoon-devastated airport of the city of Tacloban in the Philippines when 21-year old Emily Ortega gave birth to a baby girl.
It was a rare piece of good news for the seaside city where officials fear at least 10,000 were killed, and where tens of thousands of residents saw their homes flattened by ferocious winds and a massive storm surge from Typhoon Haiyan.
Bea Joy Sagales appeared in good health. Her birth drew applause from others in the airport and military medics who assisted in her delivery.
Her birth was near miraculous - her mother was in an evacuation center when the storm surge hit and flooded the city. The mother had to swim and cling to a post to survive before she found safety at the airport. Her husband in Manila was unaware of what has happened.
The typhoon made landfall Friday, barreling through six central Philippine islands, wiping away buildings and leveling seaside homes with winds of 147 miles per hour and gusts of 170 mph.
The U.S. military dispatched water, generators and a contingent of Marines to the worst-hit city along the country's remote eastern seaboard, the first outside help in what will swell into a major international relief mission in the coming days. Two U.S. C-130 transport planes flew from Manila's Vilamor air base to Tacloban.
Survivors wandered through the remains of their flattened wooden homes, hoping to salvage belongings or find loved ones.
CBS News reporter Barnaby Lo, who himself escaped the damage on the nearby island of Cebu, said there was looting of stripped malls, shops and homes in Tacloban. Witnesses said it was largely food, water and consumer goods being stolen, and officials said some of the looting smacked of desperation. In other cases, however, items taken included TVs, refrigerators, Christmas trees and a treadmill. An Associated Press reporter in the town said he saw around 400 special forces and soldiers patrolling downtown to guard against further chaos.