Typhoon death toll continues to rise as 23 more bodies recovered

MANILA, Philippines - Twenty-three more bodies were recovered yesterday as the death toll from Typhoon Yolanda rose to 5,959.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 27,022 people were injured while 1,779 remain missing.

NDRRMC executive director Eduardo del Rosario said while the number of fatalities was increasing daily, the number of affected families declined to 2,581,677 or 12,191,201 individuals as of yesterday.

The displaced families are now staying in 386 evacuation centers set up by the government and non-government organizations involved in humanitarian operations in the Visayas region.

Damage to infrastructure and agriculture in parts of Mindanao, Central, Eastern, Western Visayas, parts of Bicol and Southern Tagalog, has been placed at P35.5 billion.

Yolanda also destroyed or damaged 1,192,091 houses from these areas, the NDRRMC said.

Cost of government and non-government assistance to typhoon survivors has gone up to P1.06 billion from P1.04 billion the other day.

The NDRRMC said the Department of Social Welfare and Development is ending its food distribution operations to evacuees this month.

Government help for evacuees next year would be in the form of food-for-work program, a scheme that would give jobs to displaced residents in devastated communities.