Typhoon Bopha kills 129 in the Philippines

MANILA - The Philippine death toll from Typhoon Bopha (local name: Pablo) rose to 129 as strong winds and heavy floods hit several provinces in Mindanao.

Residents retrieve their belongings after their house was destroyed by a fallen tree caused by Typhoon Bopha in Cagayan de Oro City, southern Philippines Dec 4, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council ( PDRMMC) said as of Wednesday noon, the number of fatalities in the province of Davao Oriental alone hit 81, while 148 were wounded, 25 went missing and 5,737 families displaced. Bopha also damaged several houses, buildings and roads in the province.

In a separate interview, Lyndon Paniza, spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division, said there are 48 casualties in the province of Compostela Valley. This number didn't include the three soldiers who died while rescuing the typhoon victims.

President Benigno Aquino III said in a news briefing that he had sent Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas to Mindanao to assess the situation there.

"Any single casualty is a cause for distress. We're always looking for ways on how to reduce the number of people killed by the typhoon," Aquino said, adding that he will visit Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental soon.

As of 11:00 am local time, state meteorologists said the eye of typhoon Bopha was located at 130 km northeast of Puerto Princesa City. It has slowed down and weakened slightly and is now over Northern Palawan.

About 20 typhoons hit the Philippines annually, often causing death and destruction. Typhoon Washi killed 1,500 people in 2011.

More than half those confirmed killed, many buried under mud and collapsed houses, were from an area near an army outpost in Compostela Valley province on southern Mindanao.

"We have already accounted 43 bodies and we're still looking for more, including nine soldiers," said Major-General Ariel Bernardo, an army division commander.

BURIED UNDER MUD

Bernardo said two dozen people had been pulled from under layers of mud and were being treated in local hospitals. Video showed dozens of bloodied survivors, their faces covered with thick cake of mud, at a shelter in the province.

Mudslides and massive flooding caused by swollen rivers inundated most farms in Compostela Valley.

"In the town of Nabunturan, our farms were totally wiped out, there was flooding in every barangay (village)," police Major Hector Grijaldo. "All banana plantations were totally wiped out. What we see standing are coconut trees, all others were either uprooted or felled."