Philippine official death toll from typhoon "Haiyan" rises to 255

Death toll from super typhoon "Haiyan," locally named "Yolanda," climbed to 255 with affected individuals ballooning to 9.7 million, a senior government official said Monday.

Photo: AP

169 of the deceased came from the eastern coast area which includes Leyte and Eastern Samar. The rest came from central part of the country, according to executive director Eduardo del Rosario of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

Some 71 people were injured while 38 others were missing, he added.

The number of the affected population has been more than doubled to 9.7 million, scattering in 41 provinces. The government has provided 1,444 evacuation centers which housed 433,000 persons.

The typhoon's damage to infrastructure and agriculture was estimated at over 296.5 million pesos (6.86 million U.S. dollars).

Vietnam donates 100,000 USD emergency aid to typhoon victims in Philippines

Vietnam has decided to offer emergency aid worth 100,000 U.S. dollars to the victims of typhoon "Haiyan" in the Philippines and will continue to consider practical support measures within its capacity.

"Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Sunday extended their sympathy to Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III over the heavy human losses and property damages caused by super typhoon 'Haiyan,'" reported the Vietnam Government Portal (VGP) on Sunday.

The report added that "the Vietnamese leaders expressed their hope that the government and people of the Philippines would quickly overcome the consequences of the typhoon and stabilize people's lives."

On the same day, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also extended sympathy to his Philippine counterpart Albert F. Del Rosario.

The deadly typhoon slammed into central Philippines last Friday, with the winds velocity reaching 320 kilometers per hour. Nearly 800,000 Filipinos had to evacuate to safe places and around 4 million people have been affected.

UN chief concerned over impact of Typhoon Haiyan

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday expressed his extreme concerns over the damage caused by Typhoon Haiyan, which has affected some 9.5 million people in the Philippines, a UN statement said.

Ban urged the international community to continue to show their solidarity with the people of the Philippines, the statement said.

The UN and humanitarian partners, in close coordination with local and national authorities, have quickly ramped up critical relief operations to help families in desperate need.

"With roads, airports and bridges destroyed or blocked with debris, agencies have begun airlifting food, health, shelter, medical and other life-saving supplies and have deployed specialist teams and vital logistics support," the statement said.

Food, medical kits, logistics and communications equipment, and thousands of tarpaulins are being flown to the typhoon-hit areas.

"The Secretary-General thanks UN member states for their prompt response, including bilateral funds, relief teams and civil-military support," said the statement.

Haiyan, one of the largest storms to ever make landfall, hit the central Filipino provinces of Samar and Leyte early Friday, killing an estimated 10,000 people in Leyte province alone.

The death toll could be rising steeply as remote areas are reached.