President Barack Obama says the U.S. is committed to helping the Philippines as it recovers from the devastating typhoon that ravaged the country and killed thousands including several Americans.

In an afternoon news conference on Thursday, Obama told reporters, "The United States will continue to offer whatever assistance we can. Our military personnel and U.S.A.I.D. team do this better than anybody in the world and they've already been on the ground working tirelessly to deliver food, water, medicine, shelter, and to help with airlift."

The President encouraged Americans who want to support organizations assisting with the recovery to get more information by going to www.whitehouse.gov/typhoon.