20/12/2011 12:42
Nearly 1,000 people killed in Philippines
Philippines President Benigno Aquino is visiting parts of the country which have been devastated by deadly storms, the BBC reports.
Nearly 1,000 people were killed after Typhoon Washi hit southern Mindanao island and surrounding areas at the weekend.
Mr. Aquino has declared a national calamity and said the priority must now be the tens of thousands left homeless.
Disaster agencies on Monday delivered body bags, food, water, and medicine to crowded evacuation centers in the southern Philippines as officials ordered the digging of graves to prevent disease after hundreds died from flash floods, the Reuters informs.
The latest count listed 957 dead and 49 missing and is set to climb further as additional bodies are being recovered from the sea and mud in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro cities.
A handful of morgues are overwhelmed and running out of coffins and formaldehyde for embalming. Aid workers appealed for bottled water, blankets, tents and clothes for many of 45,000 displaced in crowded evacuation centers, the Boston.com says.