Dead bodies still scattered in Leyte, as aid sent for 900,000 affected families

Since: March 5, 2009

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Dead bodies still scattered in Leyte, as aid sent for 900,000 affected families

(GMA News, Nov. 9, 2013). Samar and Leyte were among the provinces most severely hit by Yolanda on Friday morning when the storm was at its strongest.

Citing a report from the local airport manager, John Andrews, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said Saturday that more than 100 dead bodies are lying in the streets in Tacloban City in Leyte. More than 100 people, he said, are also injured.

Several government agencies are meanwhile working overtime to deliver aid to more than 900,000 families affected by typhoon Yolanda, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Saturday.

The Philippine Official Gazette said in a tweet that as of 12 noon, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has identified a total of 944,586 families affected by the typhoon.

DSWD said at the NDRRMC briefing held Saturday morning that it has deployed a seven-man team to Samar and Leyte to assess the situation in the aftermath of the typhoon and aid in relief operations.

Energy secretary Rene Almendras has declined to say the goverment's updated official tally of casualties, saying in a television report that several government officials are still verifying the number of dead in several provinces.

He confirmed, however, that the death toll has gone past the three persons reported by the NDRRMC Friday.

"What I can tell is that [the death toll] is not just three. But I cannot tell you now exactly how much more [casualties there are] because right now, we're still working to get better figures," he said.

NTC said at the press conference it is working with telecommunication providers Globe and Smart to restore cellular services in the affected provinces in the Visayas region.

CAAP, meanwhile, said on Twitter that as of 12 noon, the airports in Tacloban, Kalibo, Roxas and Busuanga in Palawan will remain closed until further notice. – Xianne Arcangel / KDM, GMA News