The number of deaths from typhoons in the Philippines exceeds 900

A senior Philippine official said today the number of people killed by the storm in Japan has exceeded 900.

AFP quoted Benito Ramos, director of the Philippine National Disaster Management and Mitigation Council, saying 927 people were confirmed dead. This number will increase rapidly as the bodies continue to be found. The Philippine Red Cross released 713 deaths, but added that there were still 563 missing cases.

"Many bodies were swept out to sea and underwater during the first 3 days. The number of deaths will change," Ramos said.

The ruined scene in a village in Iligan City
on the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines. (Photo: AFP)

The number of confirmed deaths increased rapidly after the Philippine government rescue workers discovered more bodies in Mindanao Island, especially in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, which were destroyed by the storm. most serious. The British Foreign Ministry yesterday confirmed a citizen of the country was among those who died from Hurricane Washi.

The heavily disaster-prone region about 800km from Manila is rarely damaged by storms compared to most of the rest of the Philippines. This caused people here to be surprised when floods caused by heavy rain from Washi attacked their houses on the morning of December 17. More than 88,000 people are currently evacuated, more than half of them are crowded in temporary evacuation centers.

Teresita Badiang, an engineer at Iligan mayor's office, said the city began building two concrete concrete catacombs, for mass burial for those killed. The mayor of Cagayan de Oro also said that the mass burial will be held here this week. Health officials are taking DNA samples and taking photos of the victims. Philippine President Benigno Aquino will visit the disaster area today.

The Philippines suffered about 20 major annual storms. Most of these go into Luzon, the largest and most populous island of the Southeast Asian island nation. The two super typhoons Nesat and Nalgae repeatedly attacked the Philippines in the last days of September, killing more than 100 people.

The devastating effect of Hurricane Washi this time reminds people of the Ketsana storm, one of the most devastating storms that attacked the Philippines. Heavy rainfall from Typhoon Ketsana poured into Manila and other parts of the island, causing more than 460 deaths in 2009.