Flattened houses in the city of Tacloban, Leyte Province, in the Philippines are seen on Monday in an aerial photo, only days after Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated the town on Friday. Photo: AFP

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Survivors of a super typhoon that may have killed more than 10,000 people in the Philippines were growing increasingly desperate for aid Monday, as authorities struggled to contain looting following what is potentially the country's worst recorded natural disaster.

As the scale of the devastation slowly became clear, rescue workers appeared overwhelmed in their efforts to help  survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which sent tsunami-like waves and merciless winds rampaging across a huge chunk of the archipelago on Friday.

Hundreds of police and soldiers were deployed to contain looters in Tacloban, the devastated provincial capital of Leyte, while the US announced it had responded to a Philippine government appeal and was sending military help.

"Tacloban is totally destroyed. Some people are losing their minds from hunger or from losing their families," high school teacher Andrew Pomeda, 36, told AFP on Sunday, warning of the increasing desperation of survivors.

"People are becoming violent. They are looting business establishments, the malls, just to find food, rice and milk ... I am afraid that in one week, people will be killing from hunger."

President Benigno Aquino said while visiting Tacloban on Sunday that looting had become a major concern, after only 20 officers out of the city's 390-strong police force turned up for work.

"So we will send about 300 police and soldiers to take their place and bring back peace and order," he said.

The natural disaster has also triggered political finger-pointing, as Aquino was criticized on Sunday for blaming local officials in Tacloban for not preparing against the onslaught of Typhoon Haiyan, Philippine news portal sunstar.com.ph reported.

"At a time when our people have barely recovered from the devastation … it is simply in bad taste to blame the extent of the damages and casualties to the locality which suffered the most," said Kabataan party-list Representative Terry Ridon, adding the country has no plan to mitigate the effects of calamities.

Zhao Gancheng, a professor from the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times that Typhoon Haiyan could be a big challenge for Aquino.

"The Aquino government didn't make enough effort to organize evacuation and appears to be overwhelmed by the disaster, which shows its lack of capabilities in disaster prevention and management. The Aquino government's sluggish response to the typhoon will have a negative impact on his career as the opposition party would take this as a tool to attack him," said Zhao.

Haiyan, which moved out of the Philippines on Saturday, made landfall in Vietnam early Monday. More than 600,000 people in Vietnam were evacuated, with flooding and heavy rain expected.

Further north, at least four were killed and seven remain missing in China after rainstorms triggered by Typhoon Haiyan lashed the South China on Sunday and Monday. 

Also on Monday, Aquino declared a state of national calamity to speed aid efforts for victims of the natural disaster.

Aquino said the two worst hit provinces had suffered massive destruction and loss of life.

A total of 1,774 lives have been lost in the country as of Monday, according to Xinhua.