(Updates with U.S. aid groups also sending help)
WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - A team of about 90 U.S. Marines and sailors headed to the Philippines on Sunday, part of a first wave of promised U.S. military assistance for relief efforts after a devastating typhoon killed at least 10,000 people, U.S. officials said.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this weekend ordered the U.S. military's Pacific Command to assist with search and rescue operations and provide air support in the wake of super typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded.
At the same time, U.S. aid groups launched a multimillion-dollar relief campaign of their own. World Vision, based in the Seattle area, said a shipment of blankets and plastic tarpaulins would arrive on Monday as a first step in its plan to help some 400,000 people.
The Marines said a team of U.S. forces from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade left for the Philippines from a U.S. base in Okinawa, Japan, aboard two KC-130J Hercules transport aircraft.
Two Florida-based Navy P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft, which had been on a six month rotation to Misawa, Japan, have been prepositioned in the Philippines to assist with search and rescue operations, the Marines said in statement.
The typhoon is estimated to have killed at least 10,000 people in the central Philippines. Most of the deaths appear to have been caused by surging sea water strewn with debris that many said resembled a tsunami, leveling houses and drowning its victims.
A World Vision official based in Cebu Province said there were early reports that as much as 90 percent of northern Cebu was destroyed by the monster storm. World Vision said its shipment of 5,000 blankets and 3,000 tarpaulins, from a warehouse in Germany, would give survivors the material to build temporary shelters.
The U.N. World Food Program said it mobilized a $2 million relief program that would include flying 40 tonnes of fortified "high energy" biscuits to the Philippines from Dubai.
AmeriCares, based in Stamford, Connecticut, said it had a relief team on the ground in the Philippines and was shipping relief supplies. Garrett Ingoglia, AmeriCares vice president for emergency response said the shipment included antibiotics, pain relievers, wound care supplies and other medical aid for a least 20,000 people.
CARE, based in Atlanta, said it aimed to help 30,000 families with emergency and longer-term assistance.
U.S. groups, including CARE, Save the Children and the American Red Cross, appealed on the Internet to Americans for cash donations.
The American Red Cross, headquartered in Washington, placed emergency response teams on standby and activated a family tracing service. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; additional reporting by Charles Abbott in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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