Yolanda deaths rise to 5,924; damage pegged at P35.5-B

MANILA, Philippines - The death toll from Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) inches near the 6,000 level as retrieval operations continue in devastated areas in the Visayas.

As of 6 a.m. Monday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the death toll from "Yolanda" rose to 5,924.

Despite the rising number of fatalities, the number of missing persons remained unchanged at 1,779.

Majority of the bodies recovered by the retrieval teams have yet to be identified by the government.

The NDRRMC said nearly four million typhoon victims remained displaced and were staying in 386 evacuation centers or with their relatives.

More than 12.2 million people were affected by the super typhoon in nine regions and majority of the victims were recorded in Eastern Visayas, where "Yolanda" made landfall last November 8.

The super typhoon leveled hundreds of thousands of houses in the Visayas with its record winds of more than 230 kilometers per hour.

The NDRRMC said that the super typhoon damaged a total of 1,177,194 houses with 585,134 totally damaged.

The super typhoon's damage was pegged at P35.52 billion.