[In the news] Sendong death toll nears 1000, more than double Ondoy fatalities – www.gmanetwork.com

Sendong death toll nears 1000, more than double Ondoy fatalities

(Updated 9:07 a.m.) The number of fatalities from Tropical Storm Sendong (international codename Washi) threatened to breach the 1,000 mark early Tuesday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Tuesday morning before the scheduled visit of President Benigno Aquino III.

In its 6 a.m. update, the NDRRMC listed at least 957 people had been confirmed dead, with at least 49 still missing.

This number is already double the number of fatalities from Typhoon Ondoy in 2009. Many of those who died last weekend lived along riverbanks or on islets in the middle of Cagayan de Oro River, which state geologists said should never have been inhabited.

Cagayan de Oro recorded the highest number of deaths so far, with 579, which are already more than Ondoy’s 464 fatalities. Many of those killed lived on Isla de Oro, an islet close to the banks of the heavily silted Cagayan de Oro River.

A total of 1,582 had been reported injured while 432 were rescued, the report added.

Also, the NDRRMC said “Sendong” had affected 63,079 families or 338,415 people in 260 villages in 30 towns and eight cities in 13 provinces.

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