Philippines typhoon death toll tops 1000 and could rise higher
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A girl and other typhoon victims search for recyclable materials from among the debris at the ruins of a house in the coastal town of Cateel, that was devastated during last Tuesday's Typhoon Bopha in Davao Oriental, southern Philippines Dec 11, 2012. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
MANILA (AFP) - The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year has topped 1,000 and could still rise sharply, the government said on Sunday.
Typhoon Bopha killed 1,020 people, mostly on the southern island of Mindanao, where floods and landslides caused major damage on Dec 4, civil defence chief Benito Ramos said.
A total of 844 people remain missing, about half of them fishermen who ventured out to sea before Bopha hit, Mr Ramos said, adding he feared many of the missing were dead.
"The death toll will go higher. We found a lot of bodies yesterday, buried under fallen logs and debris," he told AFP.
