Filipinos prepare mass graves for storm victims

Via ABC News :

" Authorities in the Philippines are preparing for mass burials to cope with the death and destruction caused by tropical storm Washi at the weekend.

The death toll stands at more than 650 with more than 900 still missing after flash flooding and landslides that swept away entire villages in the middle of the night.

The Red Cross says most of those killed were women and children.

Morgues and hospitals on the island of Mindanao are struggling to cope with the dead and injured in an area that is desperately poor and wracked by conflict.

Local authorities plan to bury unidentified bodies in mass graves to try to avert a disease outbreak and to reduce pressure on mortuaries which are now turning away the dead due to lack of space.

"Today we will dig a mass grave and bury the unclaimed bodies as well as those in an advanced state of decomposition," Iligan's mayor Lawrence Cruz said on national television.

He said up to 50 of about 300 bodies recovered in Iligan since Washi struck in the early hours of Saturday will be communally buried.

Television footage from an Iligan mortuary showed a corridor lined with bodies awaiting burial, wrapped in white plastic bags bound tightly with tan-coloured packaging tape."

Japan : Tropical storm kills 49, many await rescue

Article via NHK News :

" Tropical storm Talas has left 49 people dead and 55 missing, mainly in western Japan.

The large and slow-moving storm dumped record amounts of rain across central and western Japan over the weekend.

As of Tuesday evening, at least 2,400 people are stranded in 32 communities in the 3 prefectures of Wakayama, Nara and Mie. The Self-Defense Forces have been mobilized to rescue thousands of people stranded in the worst-hit areas.

In the 3 prefectures, more than 24,000 households have been left without power.

The storm has also destroyed at least 93 houses in 8 prefectures.

The tropical storm has moved off to the Sea of Japan where it has been downgraded to a low-pressure system."

Japan : Storm toll reaches 33, with 56 still missing

Via NHK News :

" The number of victims of tropical storm Talas is increasing. As of Tuesday morning, 33 people have died and 56 others are missing, mainly in western Japan.

Wakayama Prefecture suffered the worst losses as a record downpour claimed the lives of 21 people, with a further 34 still missing.

In Nachi-Katsuura, one man was found dead in a submerged car and another in a damaged house. Seven more were confirmed dead and 21 are missing.

In neighboring Nara Prefecture, 4 people have been confirmed dead and 20 are missing. A mudslide killed a woman in her 60s in the city of Gojo. Floods swept away 7 houses and left 10 people missing.

The storm destroyed at least 80 houses in 7 prefectures. More than 16,000 homes were flooded."

Storm kills 25, leaves 53 missing in Japan

Via NHK News, excerpt :

" Tropical storm Talas has triggered mudslides and floods in western Japan, killing 25 people and leaving 53 others missing.

In Wakayama Prefecture, 15 people were killed. Police say 28 others are missing.

In neighboring Nara Prefecture, 4 have been confirmed dead and 22 remain unaccounted for.

In Mie, a woman who is believed to be in her 80s was killed in a mudslide. An 87-year-old man was found dead in a submerged home.

A 45-year-old woman in Ehime was swept away in a river and drowned, while a 90-year-old man in Hiroshima was found dead after leaving home to move a vessel.

The storm has destroyed more than 70 homes in 6 prefectures, including Wakayama, Nara and Mie. Nearly 140 were damaged."