Phillipines is yet to return to normalcy after Typhoon Bopha, the strongest typhoon to have hit the country this year, killed at least 418 people and left many missing. People buried the dead on Friday amid the ongoing rescue operations.
[DEVASTATING PHOTOS OF TYPHOON BOPHA IN PHILLIPINES]
Typhoon Bopha, which hit Compostela Valley on Tuesday, is reported to have affected over two lakh people. The typhoon, with central winds of 115 kph and gusts of up to 145 kph, was moving to west-northwest of the central Philippines on Thursday and is expected to be above the South China Sea Friday, reported Reuters.
According to the information given by the national disaster agency, the official death toll stands at 418 and 383 are reported missing. The death toll could rise as many of those reported missing may not be alive.
It is said that officials of Compostela Valley are planning to bury the unclaimed bodies killed by the typhoon in mass graves. Arturo Uy, governor of Compostela Valley, said that 212 died in his province while nearly 400 were missing, adding that half of the people missing could dead.
"We are thinking of burying the unclaimed bodies on health concerns," Major General Ariel Bernardo, an army division commander in the southern Philippines, told Reuters. "The foul smell is becoming strong."
Bernardo went on to say lack of equipments attected the rescue operation and retrieval work.
Philippines is a typhoon-prone region with about 20 typhoons hitting the country every year, causing significant damage and loss of lives. Typhoon Washi killed about 1,500 people in Mindanao last year.
(With Inputs from Reuters)
