Flash floods devastated a southern Philippines region unaccustomed to serious storms, killing at least 450 people while they slept, rousting hundreds of others to their rooftops and turning two coastal cities into muddy, debris-filled waterways that were strewn with overturned vehicles and toppled trees.
With nearly 300 people missing, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and top military officials were to fly to the worst-hit city of Cagayan de Oro on Sunday to help oversee search-and-rescue efforts and deal with thousands of displaced villagers, as the weather began to clear and floodwaters receded. Among the items urgently needed are coffins and body bags, said Benito Ramos, who heads the government’s disaster-response agency.
“It’s overwhelming. We didn’t expect these many dead,” Ramos said.
From: http://ping.fm/TPgXR
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