Dabawenya Babe goes to Hawaii

More bodies found in mud-swamped Bicol villages

Typhoon Reming Destruction

PADANG–Philippine rescuers shoveled away mud and boulders Saturday to recover bodies from mudslides that smothered mountainside villages, as officials feared the death toll from a powerful typhoon could double to 600.

Seas of thick black mud made the going tough for rescue workers, who were not believed to have pulled any survivors from the muck since the first hours after Typhoon Durian blasted ashore Thursday with winds gusting up to 265 kph (165 mph).

The death toll surpassed 300, with another 300 missing and prospects dwindling fast for finding any of them alive. The first funerals were being carried out Saturday evening as bodies rapidly decomposed in the tropical heat.

The Disaster Coordinating Council of worst-hit Albay province reported 236 dead, including 129 in the town of Guinobatan, swamped by floodwaters in the Mayon volcano’s foothills. Three towns on Mayon’s slopes, overwhelmed by mudslides of volcanic ash and boulders, each reported at least 22 dead.

Four other provinces reported fatalities, but accurate casualty figures were hard to come by, with the disaster’s devastation so widespread and power and phone lines down.

In some places, rescue workers found only finding parts of bodies.

Entire article

Popularity: 1% [?]