Editor’s note: This updates the official death toll from supertyphoon ‘Yolanda’)
MANILA, Philippines—The official death toll from supertyphoon ‘‘Yolanda’’ (international name: Haiyan) went over 5,000 on Friday.
At a press briefing at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo, Executive Director Eduardo del Rosario said that fatalities stood at 5,209.
Of these, 4,919 were recorded killed in Eastern Visayas alone.
In a separate briefing on Friday, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said there could be more deaths as there were 1,725 persons killed based on official records in Tacloban City from the province of Leyte. But ground reports said that 1,755 bodies had been recovered by Task Force Cadaver since Nov. 16.
Other hard hit areas like Tanauan had 1,246 deaths and Palo had 1,070.
In Eastern Samar, Roxas said not all of the 24 towns were badly hit. But 250 persons had been reported killed in 12 towns in the southeast portion.
Missing persons were at 1,582 while injured rose to 24,716.
Originally posted at 3:19 p.m.