Survivors of Typhoon Bopha mourn their dead
With hundreds dead and scores still missing, the aftermath of destructive storm leaves scenes of devastation in southern Philippines
Outside a gymnasium in the battered town of New Bataan, several mud-stained bodies lay side by side, covered by cloth and banana leaves and surrounded by villagers covering their noses to fight the stench. A man sprayed insecticide on the remains to turn away swarms of flies.
A day after Typhoon Bopha killed more than 270 people in the southern Philippines, survivors were left reeling from scenes of devastation, mourning the loss of whole families swept away, and searching for hundreds more who have yet to be found.
"It's hard so say how many more are missing," provincial spokeswoman Fe Maestre said. "We're now searching everywhere."
The coastal province of Davao Oriental was the first to be struck by the typhoon as it blew inland from the Pacific Ocean. At least 115 people perished, mostly in three towns that were so battered by the wind it was hard to find any building or house with a roof left, provincial officer Freddie Bendulo and other officials said.
"We had a problem where to take the evacuees. All the evacuation centres have lost their roofs," Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon said.
Leaders who flew to the south to inspect the damage described scenes of utter carnage, with countless buildings ripped apart by the destructive winds.