Philippine rescuers continue to search missing as death toll rises to 632

Search, rescue and retrieval workers continued to recover more bodies on Monday in the aftermath of tropical storm Washi (local name Sendong) that brought the death toll in central and southern Philippines to 632. As of 12 noon Monday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that of the 632 confirmed deaths, 580 are from Northern Mindanao, broken down into 336 from Cagayan de Oro, 227 from Iligan City and 17 from Bukidnon. As of Monday noon, NDRRMC Executive Director and Office of Civil Defense administrator Benito Ramos said 82 are missing and 432 were rescued. The number of damaged houses was placed at 6,917. The NDRRMC said 26,928 families or 142,961 persons have been affected. Of the figure, 8,128 families or 44,976 persons are housed in 47 evacuation centers. Eugenio Julio Osias IV, spokesman of the Army's 4th Infantry Division, said 475 bodies have been already recovered in Cagayan de Oro City, or 139 more than the NDRRMC figure. Citing figures released by the city mayor's office, an official said the number of missing is more than 400. Roland Amarille, who is leading the military's disaster response and relief operations in Iligan City, said they have already accounted 279 people dead and more than 200 others are still missing. Amarille's figure is 50 more than that of the NDRRMC. Osias said workers were continuing to recover more bodies in Cagayan de Oro City. "In fact, as of now we received reports that bodies were found at the coastline of Camiguin." Amarille said the decomposing bodies in Iligan City were due to be buried at a mass grave in Panao village, also in the city, later on Monday. He said local government officials decided to burry them at the site to avoid probable epidemic. He said they took photographs of the bodies before the burial so that they can be identified later. Amerille conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas in Iligan City and saw logs scattered in many areas. "One of the reason of the flashflood was rampant illegal logging," the official said. Meanwhile, AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said the Navy is due to depart Manila Monday for Cagayan de Oro City to transport about 400 to 500 coffins donated by mayors from Pampanga province. "Based on the reports from the field, they are needing (coffins) because the funeral parlors are lacking with it already. A group of mayors from Pampanga pooled their resources to donate 400 to 500 coffins," he said.