MANILA, Philippines - The death toll from tropical storm Sendong (international codename: Washi) rose to 143 on Saturday with more than 100 others missing after widespread flash floods in Mindanao, officials said.
The military said 95 bodies were recovered in Cagayan de Oro, a major port on Mindanao island, while the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said 48 people were killed elsewhere on the island.
A total of 125 other people were missing in Cagayan de Oro, said regional military spokesman Colonel Leopoldo Galon.
As of early Saturday, rescuers had recovered the bodies of 69 victims in Cagayan de Oro City, in nearby Iligan City and the Zamboanga del Norte areas of Dapitan and Polanco.
In Cagayan de Oro City alone, 51 were confirmed dead when floodwaters reached more than one meter deep early Saturday.
Twenty of the victims - many of them children - were recovered in Barangay (village) Tambo alone, one of the villages that dotted the swelling Cagayan de Oro River.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer was there when the bodies were being retrieved.
Emil Raña, city local government operations officer, said 22 villages came underwater when Sendong dumped rains. The floods were worsened by high tide, he said.
Armin Cuenca, head of the Oro Alert, said people were warned early on but many refused to leave their homes.
Cuenca said this worsened the situation when floodwaters started rising.
Bryan Cabillo of Tambo said his wife and three children were carried by the rushing floodwaters that swept their home late Friday.
He said his efforts to save them were futile as he too struggled against the strong current.
In nearby Iligan City, 15 people - including broadcaster Enie Alzonado of Radyo Mo Nationwide - died in the floods.
Mayor Lawrence Cruz said the bodies of the victims had been recovered.
Chief Superintendent Celso Regencia, Iligan City police chief, said they got reports that 40 people were killed in the floods but these were being verified.
Cruz said he was basing his data from actual recovery figure but admitted the death toll could increase as more than 200 others were reported missing as of midday Saturday.
The floods were worst, Cruz said because even areas that did not have floods in the past were deluged.
He said in many areas, the water was more than one meter deep.
"In the flood-prone districts, houses were either underwater or washed away.
Many families had to be rescued from the roof of their houses," Cruz said.
The floodwaters have since subsided and this could speed up the search and rescue efforts, he said. In Zamboanga del Norte, Governor Rolando Yebes said three persons died in the flood waters that hit villages in Dapitan and Polanco.
"Iyong tubig umabot lampas tao," he said by phone.
Yebes said the floods were also worsened by high tide.
"Disaster personnel continue to monitor and assess the situation to determine actual number of families affected," he said.
Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City, said soldiers were deployed to help in the search and rescue operation in flooded areas of Mindanao.
Cabangbang said early Saturday that in ILigan City alone, many residents were still on the roof of their houses.
He said the residents - many of them children - were chilling from fear and being wet - when plucked out.
The total number of people displaced by the floods was still being documented.
But in Cagayan de Oro, which still has no electricity as of Saturday morning, some 20,000 people were being assisted in at least 10 evacuation centers, according to Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman.
In Iligan City, Cruz said "thousands had been displaced" but the actual number was still being determined.
The Iligan Bloggers Society had started a fund drive for the flood victims.
The group said they preferred canned goods and packed foods and clothing but donors could also send cash.
