Death toll has increased to 1249 from storm in Philippines as bodies wash ashore - 26th Dec 2011

The death toll from the tropical storm that lashed the southern Philippines just over a week ago has topped 1,200, the government said Monday, as the bodies of people swept out to sea by flash floods wash ashore.

The number of dead has increased to 1,249 from 1,100 over the weekend, said Major Reynaldo Balido, the military assistant for operations at the Office of Civil Defense.

The bodies have been washed up on nearby beaches and islands, Balido said by telephone from the island of Mindanao, the scene of the worst devastation.

The authorities have also enlisted the help of local fishermen to help search for the scores of people who remain missing, he said, adding that the fisherman volunteered, since many of them had lost friends and relatives in the disaster.

The unusually heavy rains of Tropical Storm Washi, which churned across the southern Philippines between December 16 and 18, set off landslides and flash floods that swept away whole villages. Read More