The US has deployed an aircraft carrier and navy ships to the Philippines, while the UK is sending a naval destroyer.
At least 10,000 people are feared to have been killed, and thousands of survivors desperately require aid.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino has declared a state of national calamity.
In a statement, he said the two worst affected provinces, Leyte and Samar, had suffered massive destruction and loss of life.
A huge international relief effort is under way, but rescue workers have struggled to reach areas cut off since the storm.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described images of the impact of the storm as "heartbreaking".
The UN would launch a large-scale humanitarian plan, and allocate $25m (£15.5m) "to fund critical relief efforts", he said.
"Many thousands of people are reported to have died and almost 10 million people have been affected... Let us all show our solidarity with the people of the Philippines at this time of need," he added.
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Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports from Tacloban where families have to bury their own dead
One of the most powerful storms on record to make landfall, Haiyan - named "Yolanda" by Philippine authorities - struck the coastal provinces of Leyte and Samar on Friday.
It then headed west, sweeping through six central Philippine islands.
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Typhoon Haiyan: Survivors' stories
Air Force Capt Antonio Tamayo told AP news agency the scene in Tacloban, one of the worst-hit areas, was "overwhelming".
`We need more medicine. We cannot give anti-tetanus vaccine shots because we have none.''
Officials said looting was widespread and order was proving difficult to enforce. Correspondents say many ordinary people are simply scavenging for the food and water needed to survive.
The government says it has deployed armoured vehicles to Tacloban to deter looters.
"We are circulating [the vehicles] in the city to show the people, especially those with bad intentions, that the authorities have returned," Interior Secretary Mar Roxas told DZMM radio.
Updated destruction
'Dead bodies'
In a statement, the US said that aircraft carrier USS George Washington and other navy ships should arrive in the Philippines "within 48-72 hours".
"As needed, these ships and aircraft will be able to provide humanitarian assistance, supplies, and medical care in support of the ongoing efforts led by the government and military of the Republic of the Philippines," the statement said.
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Philippine papers
Local papers are worried that the Philippines is not ready to deal with the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, named "Yolanda" by local authorities.
Editorial in The Philippine Star: "The next phase of suffering for disaster victims can be almost as awful as the actual event. Apart from the risk of disease outbreaks, victims often lose their sources of livelihood, and it can take a long time to recover."
Editorial in The Manila Times: "Weather scientists fear Yolanda will not be the last monster storm to ravage the Philippines... The national government needs to start drawing up plans now, before the next super typhoon blows our way."
The media also call on President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino to "chuck off politics" and concentrate on relief efforts.
Editorial in The Daily Tribune: "Whatever political intrigue Noynoy is embroiled in at this time should take a back seat in the mind-set of his administration with the unprecedented disaster. Political play is the least that Filipinos need from Noynoy at this time."
UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Darling would soon head to the disaster zone from Singapore.
It would take five days to arrive but once in the Philippines would bring engineering and first aid expertise, as well as the use of a Lynx helicopter.
Other countries have also pledged millions of dollars in assistance. Japan is providing $10m and Australia $9m in humanitarian aid, while New Zealand has pledged over $1m.
Reports from Tacloban say soldiers have been distributing food and water to some residents and the US military has sent marines to the city.
A Philippine military spokesman was quoted as saying on Monday that 942 people had died in the typhoon's aftermath, though it is clear the official death toll will rise significantly.
UN humanitarian official John Ging said: "Many places are strewn with dead bodies".
"The first priority of response teams, once they were able to navigate their way into these areas, is to mobilise the burial of dead bodies because of the public health issues," he said.
"As we get more and more access we find the tragedy of more and more people killed in this typhoon," he added.
Two typhoon victims walk a road surrounded by a devastated land outside the airport in Tacloban, on the eastern island of Leyte on 12 November 2013
Large parts of the Philippines have been devastated by Typhoon Haiyan
A woman holding a baby comforts a crying relative as a plane leaves the airport during evacuation operations in Tacloban, on the eastern island of Leyte on 12 November 2013
In Tacloban, Leyte, hundreds have gathered at the airport for supplies or to try and leave the city
A young boy waits at the side of the road for fresh water surrounded by debris from Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, central Philippines, 12 November 2013
Thousands of survivors desperately need aid, including food and water
Filipino military personnel stand by a building damaged by typhoon Haiyan at the airport in Tacloban, on the eastern island of Leyte on 12 November 2013
The Philippine president has declared a state of national calamity
'Flattened' city
More than nine million people have been affected in the Philippines. Many are now struggling to survive without food, shelter or clean drinking water.
A picture is slowly emerging of the full damage wrought by the storm:
The exposed easterly town of Guiuan, Samar province - population 40,000 - is said to be largely destroyed
Three-hundred people were killed and another 2,000 were missing in the town of Basey, also in Samar, officials said
Tacloban, Leyte province, was largely flattened by a massive storm surge and scores of corpses are piled by the roadside, leaving a stench in the air as they rot. Hundreds of people gathered at the airport desperate for food and water, others trying to get a flight out
Some are questioning what more authorities could have done to prepare for this, just the latest in a string of disasters to hit the nation of more than 7,000 islands.
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International aid
Australia: Aus$10m ($9.4m; £5.8m), including medical personnel
China: $100,000 (£60,000)
European Commission: 3m euros (£2.5m; $4m)
Indonesia: Aircraft, personnel, drinking water, food, generators, medicine
Japan: $10m, 25 emergency medical personnel
New Zealand: NZ$2.15m (£1.1m)
Taiwan: $200,000
UK: £10m ($15m) non-food aid package
UN: central emergency relief fund: $25m
US: At least 180 marines and sailors, transporter planes, emergency food, water, shelter and hygiene materials
Vietnam: $100,000
This list is not comprehensive
Authorities had evacuated hundreds of thousands of people before the typhoon arrived, but many evacuation centres - schools, churches and government buildings - proved unable to withstand the winds and storm surges.
Haiyan brought sustained winds of 235km/h (147mph), with gusts of 275 km/h (170 mph) and waves as high as 15m (45ft). In some places, as much as 400mm (15.75 inches) of rain fell.
On Monday, the typhoon weakened into a tropical storm and reached Vietnam. State media said at least 13 people had died, although the fatalities appeared to have taken place during preparations for the storm, before it made landfall.
The storm then moved into southern China, triggering rainstorms in Guangxi province, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
The heavy rains have left one dead and affected nearly one million people in Guangxi, Xinhua added.
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