Philippines starts to bury dead as typhoon toll hits 418
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Relatives cross a river to bury their loved one, who died in a flash flood caused by Typhoon Bopha, on Thursday, Dec 6, 2012, in New Bataan township, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines. The powerful typhoon that washed away emergency shelters, a military camp and possibly entire families in southern Philippines has killed 418 people and left nearly as many missing, authorities said. -- PHOTO: AP
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A soldier stands guard as typhoon evacuees queue for relief goods outside a local government town centre in New Bataan, Compostela Valley, southern Philippines, on Dec 6, 2012. The head of the national disaster agency said over 400 people were killed and hundreds are still missing after Typhoon Bopha triggered landslides and floods along the coast and in farming and mining towns inland in the southern Mindanao region. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Rescuers evacuate a child who survived flooding with her pregnant mother as they cross a river in New Bataan town, Compostela Valley, southern Philippines, on Dec 6, 2012. Rescuers found a six-months pregnant woman on the other side of a river with her one-year-old son after escaping floods that swamped their house when Typhoon Bopha hit land on Tuesday in Compostela Valley. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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A typhoon victim clings on a rope while being evacuated in New Bataan town, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines, on Dec 6, 2012. The head of the national disaster agency said over 400 people were killed and hundreds are still missing after Typhoon Bopha triggered landslides and floods along the coast and in farming and mining towns inland in the southern Mindanao region. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Residents buy groceries in a destroyed supermarket building in New Bataan town, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines, on Dec 6, 2012. The head of the national disaster agency said more than 400 people were killed after Typhoon Bopha triggered landslides and floods along the coast and in farming and mining towns inland in the southern Mindanao region. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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A boys stands inside their makeshift shelter in Monte Vista town, Compostela Valley province on Dec 6, 2012, two days after Typhoon Bopha hit the province. Nearly 200,000 people are homeless and more than 400 dead after the Philippines suffered its worst typhoon this year, authorities said on Dec 6, reaching out for international aid to cope with the scale of the disaster. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Residents look at the list of missing persons posted near the municipal hall of New Bataan town, Compostela Valley province, on Dec 6, 2012, two days after Typhoon Bopha hit the province. Nearly 200,000 people are homeless and more than 400 are dead after the Philippines suffered its worst typhoon this year, authorities said on Dec 6, reaching out for international aid to cope with the scale of the disaster. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A survivor retrieves his motorcycle from his home destroyed by a flash flood caused by Typhoon Bopha, Thursday Dec. 6, 2012 at New Bataan township, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines. The powerful typhoon that washed away emergency shelters, a military camp and possibly entire families in the southern Philippines has killed hundreds of people with nearly 400 missing, authorities said on Thursday. -- PHOTO: AP
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Philippine soldiers and rescue workers form a human chain as they try to transport residents across a surging river New Bataan, Compostela Valley province on Dec 6, 2012, two days after Typhoon Bopha hit the province. A quarter million people were homeless and hundreds confirmed dead after the Philippines' worst typhoon this year, officials said on Dec 6, as the government appealed for international help. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A flash flood survivor makes use of a classroom as his temporary shelter after Typhoon Bopha destroyed most of the houses in the area on Thursday, Dec 6, 2012, in New Bataan township, Compostela Valley in the southern Philippines. The powerful typhoon that washed away emergency shelters, a military camp and possibly entire families in the southern Philippines has killed hundreds of people with nearly 400 missing, authorities said on Thursday. -- PHOTO: AP
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Philippine Coast Guard personnel carry relief goods for victims of Typhoon Bopha in New Bataan, Compostela Valley in the southern Philippines, on board a ship in Manila on Dec 6, 2012. Typhoon Bopha ploughed across Mindanao island on Tuesday, flattening whole towns in its path as hurricane-force winds brought torrential rain that triggered floods and landslides. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Lenlen Medrano and her child (on stretcher), survivors of Typhoon Bopha, prepare to be transported across a surging river on a zip line in the town of New Bataan, compostela province on Dec 6, 2012. Nearly 200,000 people are homeless and more than 400 are dead after the Philippines suffered its worst typhoon this year, authorities said on Dec 6, reaching out for international aid to cope with the scale of the disaster. -- PHOTO: AFP
Relatives cross a river to bury their loved one, who died in a flash flood caused by Typhoon Bopha, on Thursday, Dec 6, 2012, in New Bataan township, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines. The powerful typhoon that washed away emergency shelters, a military camp and possibly entire families in southern Philippines has killed 418 people and left nearly as many missing, authorities said. -- PHOTO: AP
A soldier stands guard as typhoon evacuees queue for relief goods outside a local government town centre in New Bataan, Compostela Valley, southern Philippines, on Dec 6, 2012. The head of the national disaster agency said over 400 people were killed and hundreds are still missing after Typhoon Bopha triggered landslides and floods along the coast and in farming and mining towns inland in the southern Mindanao region. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Rescuers evacuate a child who survived flooding with her pregnant mother as they cross a river in New Bataan town, Compostela Valley, southern Philippines, on Dec 6, 2012. Rescuers found a six-months pregnant woman on the other side of a river with her one-year-old son after escaping floods that swamped their house when Typhoon Bopha hit land on Tuesday in Compostela Valley. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A typhoon victim clings on a rope while being evacuated in New Bataan town, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines, on Dec 6, 2012. The head of the national disaster agency said over 400 people were killed and hundreds are still missing after Typhoon Bopha triggered landslides and floods along the coast and in farming and mining towns inland in the southern Mindanao region. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Residents buy groceries in a destroyed supermarket building in New Bataan town, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines, on Dec 6, 2012. The head of the national disaster agency said more than 400 people were killed after Typhoon Bopha triggered landslides and floods along the coast and in farming and mining towns inland in the southern Mindanao region. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A boys stands inside their makeshift shelter in Monte Vista town, Compostela Valley province on Dec 6, 2012, two days after Typhoon Bopha hit the province. Nearly 200,000 people are homeless and more than 400 dead after the Philippines suffered its worst typhoon this year, authorities said on Dec 6, reaching out for international aid to cope with the scale of the disaster. -- PHOTO: AFP
Residents look at the list of missing persons posted near the municipal hall of New Bataan town, Compostela Valley province, on Dec 6, 2012, two days after Typhoon Bopha hit the province. Nearly 200,000 people are homeless and more than 400 are dead after the Philippines suffered its worst typhoon this year, authorities said on Dec 6, reaching out for international aid to cope with the scale of the disaster. -- PHOTO: AFP
A survivor retrieves his motorcycle from his home destroyed by a flash flood caused by Typhoon Bopha, Thursday Dec. 6, 2012 at New Bataan township, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines. The powerful typhoon that washed away emergency shelters, a military camp and possibly entire families in the southern Philippines has killed hundreds of people with nearly 400 missing, authorities said on Thursday. -- PHOTO: AP
Philippine soldiers and rescue workers form a human chain as they try to transport residents across a surging river New Bataan, Compostela Valley province on Dec 6, 2012, two days after Typhoon Bopha hit the province. A quarter million people were homeless and hundreds confirmed dead after the Philippines' worst typhoon this year, officials said on Dec 6, as the government appealed for international help. -- PHOTO: AFP
A flash flood survivor makes use of a classroom as his temporary shelter after Typhoon Bopha destroyed most of the houses in the area on Thursday, Dec 6, 2012, in New Bataan township, Compostela Valley in the southern Philippines. The powerful typhoon that washed away emergency shelters, a military camp and possibly entire families in the southern Philippines has killed hundreds of people with nearly 400 missing, authorities said on Thursday. -- PHOTO: AP
Philippine Coast Guard personnel carry relief goods for victims of Typhoon Bopha in New Bataan, Compostela Valley in the southern Philippines, on board a ship in Manila on Dec 6, 2012. Typhoon Bopha ploughed across Mindanao island on Tuesday, flattening whole towns in its path as hurricane-force winds brought torrential rain that triggered floods and landslides. -- PHOTO: AFP
Lenlen Medrano and her child (on stretcher), survivors of Typhoon Bopha, prepare to be transported across a surging river on a zip line in the town of New Bataan, compostela province on Dec 6, 2012. Nearly 200,000 people are homeless and more than 400 are dead after the Philippines suffered its worst typhoon this year, authorities said on Dec 6, reaching out for international aid to cope with the scale of the disaster. -- PHOTO: AFP
NEW BATAAN, Philippines (Reuters) - Residents in the southern Philippines began to bury their dead on Friday even as rescue workers continued scouring remote areas for possible survivors of Typhoon Bopha, the country's strongest storm this year, which killed 418 people and left nearly as many missing.
Officials in Compostela Valley, one of the worst hit provinces on the resource-rich island of Mindanao, were considering mass graves for unclaimed bodies killed by the typhoon which hit two days ago.
Bopha cut a swathe of destruction in the valley, flooding farming and mining towns and burying many people in mudslides.
"We are thinking of burying the unclaimed bodies on health concerns," Major General Ariel Bernardo, an army division commander in the southern Philippines, said. "The foul smell is becoming strong." He said rescue and retrieval work was hampered by lack of equipment. "Some of the dead are buried in knee deep mud and we only have our hands and shovels," he said.
