Philippines floods declared a national calamity as death toll rises

President made this statement as coffins shipped to help the authorities to control the number of deaths

more than 400 coffins were sent to both cities affected by the floods in the southern Philippines as the death toll neared 1000 and President Benigno Aquino declared a state of national disaster.

The last count

Figure 957 dead and 49 missing and is expected to increase as additional bodies are recovered from the sea and mud in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro

A handful of morgues

are overwhelmed and running out of coffins and formaldehyde for embalming. Aid workers appealed for bottled water, blankets, tents and clothes for many of 45,000 in crowded evacuation centers.

Naval Personnel

Manila loaded a ship with 437 white wooden coffins to help local authorities manage the number of deaths. Also on the way were containers with thousands of water bottles.

Most of the victims were women and children who drowned in the Friday night, when floods caused by a tropical storm have increased in homes while people slept.

Dozens of grieving relatives

at least 38 victims wept openly during funeral rites in the cemetery in Iligan. Many wore masks to try to block the smell of decomposing bodies.

"We have to give the dead a decent burial," said Mayor Lawrence Cruz. He said authorities were using part of the cemetery room to build tombs.

• A Briton was the first foreigner killed in the flooding, according to the British Embassy in Manila. He did not give details.

Aquino, on a visit to Cagayan de Oro on Tuesday, said the declaration of a national calamity will help local authorities have quick access to recovery funds and keep prices of products stable base.

"Our national government will do its best to prevent a repeat of this tragedy," Aquino told residents.
He said there will be an assessment of why so many people died, if there was ample warning that a storm travels through the region, and why people who living along riverbanks and close to the coast had not been moved to safety.

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