By Xinhua,
Manila: The toll in floods and landslides caused by the tropical storm Parma in the Philippines last week has risen to 300 after more bodies were recovered by the rescue workers Sunday as the weather cleared, officials said.
The mountainous Cordillera region was the worst hit, where more than 40 landslides occurred, killing 227 people, said Olive Luces, civil defence director of the region.
Floods also raised the water level of the Sam Roque dam, and parts of the nearby areas were submerged when the excess water was released from the dam. Officials said it will take days before the water recedes.
Relief workers are rebuilding the damaged roads linking the mountainous city of Baguio, where 50 people have been killed in the weeklong devastation of Parma.
Luces said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who flew to Baguio Sunday, convened a crisis meeting and ordered to relocate the families that are at high risk.
Tropical storm Parma slammed the northeastern coast of the Philippines Oct 3. It hovered over the country’s northern regions before finally existing the archipelago Saturday.
The National Disasters Coordinating Council said 2,267,527 people were affected in the storm. About 23,000 houses were damaged.
Officials said the toll could rise as efforts are on to search for more bodies.
The UN has also deployed a team to assess the damage.