CAGAYAN DE ORO: The death toll from killer floods in the Philippines surged by more than 200 on Tuesday, more than a week after the disaster struck, with officials expecting more corpses to be found.
The confirmed toll reached 1,453, up sharply from 1,236 the previous day as navy and coastguard ships fished more bodies out of the waters off the southern island of Mindanao, the civil defence office said.
The stench of death pervaded the region, a sign that many corpses still remained un-recovered on land, Ana Caneda, the regional civil defence chief said.
"There are still a lot of areas we have examined that are stinking of dead bodies. We don't know how many people are buried under that mud," Caneda told AFP, adding the toll could reach 2,000.
Tropical storm Washi brought heavy rains, overflowing rivers and flash floods to the southern Philippines from December 16 to 18, sweeping away whole villages built on sandbars and riverbanks.
More than 376,000 people were displaced by the storm and almost 55,000 are still huddled in crowded makeshift evacuation centres, the disaster council said.
CAGAYAN DE ORO: The death toll from killer floods in the Philippines surged by more than 200 on Tuesday, more than a week after the disaster struck, with officials expecting more corpses to be found.
The confirmed toll reached 1,453, up sharply from 1,236 the previous day as navy and coastguard ships fished more bodies out of the waters off the southern island of Mindanao, the civil defence office said.
The stench of death pervaded the region, a sign that many corpses still remained un-recovered on land, Ana Caneda, the regional civil defence chief said.
"There are still a lot of areas we have examined that are stinking of dead bodies. We don't know how many people are buried under that mud," Caneda told AFP, adding the toll could reach 2,000.
Tropical storm Washi brought heavy rains, overflowing rivers and flash floods to the southern Philippines from December 16 to 18, sweeping away whole villages built on sandbars and riverbanks.
More than 376,000 people were displaced by the storm and almost 55,000 are still huddled in crowded makeshift evacuation centres, the disaster council said.
The confirmed toll reached 1,453, up sharply from 1,236 the previous day as navy and coastguard ships fished more bodies out of the waters off the southern island of Mindanao, the civil defence office said.
The stench of death pervaded the region, a sign that many corpses still remained un-recovered on land, Ana Caneda, the regional civil defence chief said.
"There are still a lot of areas we have examined that are stinking of dead bodies. We don't know how many people are buried under that mud," Caneda told AFP, adding the toll could reach 2,000.
Tropical storm Washi brought heavy rains, overflowing rivers and flash floods to the southern Philippines from December 16 to 18, sweeping away whole villages built on sandbars and riverbanks.
More than 376,000 people were displaced by the storm and almost 55,000 are still huddled in crowded makeshift evacuation centres, the disaster council said.
CAGAYAN DE ORO: The death toll from killer floods in the Philippines surged by more than 200 on Tuesday, more than a week after the disaster struck, with officials expecting more corpses to be found.
The confirmed toll reached 1,453, up sharply from 1,236 the previous day as navy and coastguard ships fished more bodies out of the waters off the southern island of Mindanao, the civil defence office said.
The stench of death pervaded the region, a sign that many corpses still remained un-recovered on land, Ana Caneda, the regional civil defence chief said.
"There are still a lot of areas we have examined that are stinking of dead bodies. We don't know how many people are buried under that mud," Caneda told AFP, adding the toll could reach 2,000.
Tropical storm Washi brought heavy rains, overflowing rivers and flash floods to the southern Philippines from December 16 to 18, sweeping away whole villages built on sandbars and riverbanks.
More than 376,000 people were displaced by the storm and almost 55,000 are still huddled in crowded makeshift evacuation centres, the disaster council said.