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140 die in Philippine storm, toll expected to rise

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-29 01:18

MANILA, Philippines: Rescuers pulled more bodies from swollen rivers Monday as residents started to dig out their homes from under carpets of mud after flooding left 140 people dead in the Philippine capital and surrounding towns.

A resident rests beside a school bus toppled by a storm as they return to their homes in suburban Marikina city, east of Manila, Philippines, Monday Sept. 28, 2009. Many Filipinos tried to rebuild their lives Monday after saving little more than the clothes they wore in a tropical storm that prompted the capital's worst flooding in more than four decades. [Agencies]

Overwhelmed officials called for international help, warning they may not have sufficient resources to withstand another storm that forecasters said was brewing east of the island nation and could hit as early as Friday.

Authorities expected the death toll from Tropical Storm Ketsana, which scythed across the northern Philippines on Saturday, to rise as rescuers penetrate villages blocked off by floating cars and other debris. The storm dumped more than a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours, fueling the worst flooding to hit the country in more than 40 years. At least 140 people died, and 32 are missing.

Troops, police and volunteers have already rescued more than 7,900 people, but unconfirmed reports of more deaths abound, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said.

Related readings:  Rescuers aid villages hit by Ketsana  Philippine storm death toll rises to 73; 23 still missing  Philippines mulls Chinese new year as a national holiday

He told a news conference that help from foreign governments will ensure that the Philippine government can continue its relief work.

"We are trying our level best to provide basic necessities, but the potential for a more serious situation is there," Teodoro told a news conference. "We cannot wait for that to happen."

The extent of devastation became clearer Monday as TV networks broadcast images of mud-covered communities, cars upended on city streets and reported huge numbers of villagers without drinking water, food and power.

In Manila's suburban Marikina city, a sofa hung from electric wires.

Since the storm struck, the government has declared a "state of calamity" in metropolitan Manila and 25 storm-hit provinces, allowing officials to use emergency funds for relief and rescue.

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