Og flere hundrede savnes i Filippinerne
The number of people killed in the Philippines by floods triggered by Tropical Storm Washi has risen to 650, BBC online reports Sunday.
Soldiers and volunteers are still searching for 800 people reported missing on southern Mindanao island.
Many were trapped in their homes as the flash floods coincided with high tides. In some places entire villages are reported to have been swept away.
Authorities have been criticised for not giving enough warning of the storm’s severity. However the state disaster agency said adequate warnings had been given to officials and residents three days before it reached land on Friday.
Most of the 20 typhoons and major storms that hit the country each year affect the north – and many in Mindanao were unprepared for the severity of Tropical Storm Washi.
The scale of the disaster has forced the local authorities to issue an appeal for body bags and coffins.
The Philippines Red Cross is helping co-ordinate the search for those missing with the government and other aid agencies.
“Our office was swamped with hundreds of requests to help find their missing parents, children and relatives,” said Gwendolyn Pang, Red Cross Secretary-General.
Most of the dead were women and children, Ms Pang said. Many bodies remained unclaimed, raising the possibility that entire families had been swept away.
Food and water are also urgently needed for the many displaced people. Almost 35,000 people were still sheltering in evacuation centres on Sunday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.
But others are living in the remains of their homes, with no electricity or running water.
