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Two rescuers carry the body of a victim in the central Philippine province of Albay Dec.1, 2006. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
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BEIJING, Dec. 4 -- Philippine President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of national calamity yesterday as the top Red
Cross official estimated more than 1,000 people have been killed after a massive
typhoon unleashed walls of black mud on entire villages.
"We're estimating the casualties could reach 1,000,
perhaps more," Senator Richard Gordon, who heads the local Red Cross, told Radio
DZBB.
Gordon said the Red Cross had recorded a death toll
of at least 406, with 398 missing, based on figures provided by mayors of
devastated towns in the eastern Philippines, where Typhoon Durian hit with of up
to 265 kph and torrential rains on Thursday.
Government figures placed the number of dead at 324,
with 302 missing and 438 injured.
Arroyo declared a state of national calamity,
allowing the government to more rapidly release funds needed to bolster search
and rescue efforts. She is scheduled to fly for a second time to worst-hit Albay
province tomorrow, spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.
Typhoon Durian was the fourth major storm to hit the
Philippines in four months. It buffeted the Mayon volcano with so much wind and
rain that ash and boulders cascaded down in walls of black mud that swamped
entire villages a scene Gordon described as a "war zone."
"There are many unidentified bodies. There could be a
lot more hidden below. Whole families may have been wiped out," Gordon told The
Associated Press by telephone.
No survivors are known to have been pulled from
farmlands buried by volcanic mud, debris and boulders and hopes for finding any
have virtually vanished.
After surveying the blackened wasteland, Spanish
rescue volunteer David Quintana was pessimistic. "Chances are zero because you
cannot breathe, there is no air," he said.
The first funerals took place on Saturday evening and
several more bodies were buried in mass graves yesterday as bodies rapidly
decomposed in the tropical heat.
All but two dozen of the deaths occurred in Albay,
with 165 in the town of Guinobatan, swamped by floodwaters in the foothills of
Mayon volcano southeast of the capital, Manila.
Four other provinces reported fatalities, but
accurate casualty figures were hard to come by because power lines and phone
services were down.
In some places, searchers found only body parts.
(Source: China Daily/Agencies)
Philippine president declares state of national calamity
MANILA, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Sunday declared a state of national calamity and ordered the Department of Budget and Management to release 1 billion pesos (20 million U.S. dollars) for relief and rehabilitation efforts.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the funds are to be used for areas ravaged by the successive passage of typhoons "Durian", "Xangsane" and "Cimaron", all of which hit the Bicol region and southern Luzon. Full Story
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