‘Frank’ death toll nears 500, excluding ferry victims--NDCC
By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 13:48:00 06/26/2008
Filed Under: Typhoon Frank, Sulpicio ferry disaster
MANILA, Philippines -- The number of casualties from floods caused by typhoon "Frank" (international codename: Fengshen) has risen to close to 500, following belated reports from hard-hit Western Visayas, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said.
This does not include victims of the capsized MV Princess of the Stars, the NDCC said.
Of the total dead, 416 are from the Western Visayas. Of the 498, 221 have been identified while 277 are unidentified, the NDCC said Thursday.
The storm also left 288 people injured and 263 missing, the NDCC said.
Office of Civil Defense Administrator Glen Rabonza said the death count rose from close to 300 Wednesday evening after reports from the field were consolidated and validated, he said.
The floods also affected 2,443,646 people, 293,438 of whom were housed in evacuation centers, the NDCC said.
In Western Visayas alone, 1,487,106 persons were affected, 184,991 of whom are in evacuation centers. Iloilo province had the most number of affected persons, 673,088, of whom 52,397 were sheltered in evacuation centers.
The last official casualty count from the ill-fated M/V Princes of the Stars was placed at 70, with 48 survivors. The ship was carrying 862 passengers and crew when it capsized off Sibuyan Island in Romblon Saturday.
Search and rescue operations inside the ship and in neighboring coastal provinces resumed on Thursday.
"We are still on rescue mode. We may still find some who may have floated in their life vests. We are not giving up," Rabonza said.
The Coast Guard said there were 87 bodies adrift at sea off Camarines Sur, Masbate, and Quezon.
The Navy estimated the number of bodies that were found at sea or washed ashore at 50 while Transportation undersecretary Elena Bautista placed it at 115.
|
