Rescuers are digging through mud and debris to retrieve more
bodies strewn across a farming valley in the southern Philippines by a
powerful typhoon, as the death toll from the storm passed 500.
More
than 400 people are still missing after Typhoon Bopha struck on
Tuesday, with Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental provinces hardest hit
along with six other regions.
Over 310,000 have lost their homes and are crowded inside evacuation
centres or staying with families, relying on food and emergency supplies
being rushed in by government agencies and aid groups.
President Benigno Aquino III has visited New Bataan town, ground zero
of the disaster, saying: "I want to know how this tragedy happened and
how to prevent a repeat."
Mr Aquino told residents he is seeking answers to improve conditions and minimize casualties when natural disasters occur.
At least 200 died in Compostela Valley alone, including 78 villagers
and soldiers caught in a flash flood that swamped two emergency shelters
and a military camp.
"Entire families may have been washed away," said interior secretary
Mar Roxas, who visited New Bataan earlier this week. The farming town of
45,000 people was a muddy wasteland of collapsed houses and coconut and
banana trees felled by ferocious winds.
Bodies of victims were laid on the ground for viewing by people
searching for missing relatives. Some were badly mangled after being
dragged by raging flood waters over rocks and other debris. A man sprayed
insecticide on the remains to keep away swarms of flies.
In Davao Oriental, the coastal province first struck by Typhoon Bopha
as it blew from the Pacific Ocean, at least 115 people died, mostly in
three towns so battered that it was hard to find any buildings with
roofs remaining, provincial officer Freddie Bendulo and other officials
said. "We had a problem where to take the evacuees. All the evacuation centers have lost their roofs," Davao Oriental governor Corazon
Malanyaon said.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
have issued an appeal for £3 million to help people directly affected by
the typhoon.
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