PHILIPPINES: Distraught relatives bury their dead, but continue the search for missing loved ones following mudslides in the Philippines

Villagers in the central Philippines buried hundreds of relatives and friends in mass graves on Sunday (December 3) as hopes faded of finding survivors from Typhoon Durian. Maricel Arevalo, looking for her missing children, appealed for government help. "I hope they (referring to the government) will help all of us find our missing relatives. I hope they will address our needs including medicines," she said. Officials fear the death toll from Durian, which swept into the South China Sea on Friday (December 1), could hit 600 after driving rain and winds of up to 225 kph (140 mph) sent waves of mud crashing down an active volcano onto nearby villages. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of national calamity on Sunday, allowing her to order the release of 1 billion pesos (20 million US dollars) in government funds for relief and rehabilitation of affected areas. Soldiers, miners and locals, some using their bare hands, pulled corpses and body parts from areas surrounding Mount Mayon, about 320 km (200 miles) south of Manila. There was little chance of finding anyone alive under the fetid sludge. The National Disaster Coordinating Council said 309 people had been killed by landslides, flooding and flying debris, with 298 still missing across the central Bicol region. In Albay province, where residents had already suffered a slew of typhoons and the threat of a volcanic eruption this year, rumours of an impending tsunami sparked chaos with thousands fleeing coastal areas on buses, cars and motorbikes. Durian, one notch below a category 5 "super typhoon" when it hit the Philippines, weakened to a category 1 typhoon over the South China Sea and was expected to hit Vietnam's coast on Monday, potentially disrupting the coffee harvest. In the Philippines, more than 800,000 people were affected by Durian, which set off flooding so severe that some people, clinging to coconut trees in vain, were washed out to sea.

ITN Source | December 4, 2006

Tags:. .december. .already. .active. .winds. .flying