LEGASPI, Philippines, Dec 1, 2006 (From AFP) - Around 200 people were swept to their deaths and hundreds more were feared dead Friday after rivers of mud and volcanic ash swamped villages in the eastern Philippines, officials said. The mudslides triggered by super typhoon Durian's torrential rains reached as high as rooftops as they poured down from Mount Mayon volcano, aorund 350 kilometers (217 miles) southeast of Manila, witnesses said. Rescue teams were hampered by blocked roads and swollen rivers as they tried to reach many of the villages around the still active volcano.

"We do not have exact figures, but we are looking at about 200 dead, principally in the vicinity of Mayon volcano," said Glenn Rabonza, executive officer of the national disaster coordinating council. He said rescuers were concentrating efforts "to save lives" and were less concerned about counting bodies. The estimate came as the toll of confirmed fatalities from the mudslides in the Bicol region, south of Manila, continued to rise.

LEGASPI, Philippines, Dec 4, 2006 (From AFP) - The Red Cross sent out an urgent plea for water, food and medicine Monday as Philippine officials said more than 1,000 people were dead or missing after mudslides swallowed up whole villages. The government's National Disaster Coordinating Centre confirmed 425 dead from the mudslides around Mayon volcano trigged by typhoon rains. It listed a further 599 people as missing in the same eastern region of Bicol. Executive officer Glenn Rabonza said more than one million people had been affected by the disaster with damage to property alone estimated at about 274 million pesos (5.48 million dollars). The Red Cross revised its figure on the number dead from 406 to 333 Monday, saying it had counted some bodies twice, but has warned it expects the toll to rise. The deadly mudslides were triggered by torrential rains from super typhoon Durain which mixed with volcanic ash on the slopes of Mayon volcano. President Gloria Arroyo has declared a "state of national calamity" and authorized the immediate release of a billion pesos (20 million dollars) to rehabilitate affected areas. "The situation is still pretty chaotic with communications still down in most of the affected areas on Bicol," a Red Cross spokesman said. "Four provinces, including Albay, were badly hit by the typhoon. Our main concern now is fresh water, food and medicines to treat the injured making their way to evacuation centres." In the village of Maipon men returned to dig out valuables from their homes. Like so many towns and villages around Mayon, it was reduced to rubble by the torrent of mud estimated to be 12 feet (3.72 meters) thick that crashed into the town carrying with it boulders as big as cars. On Monday morning there were no rescue teams or heavy earth moving equipment and a stream had formed where the main road used to be. All that was left was the welcome arch over the main street. "There is nothing left here, there are no neighbors left," said Josefina Olander, 66, who saved some 50 people after she told them to clamber up the roof of her two-storey concrete home. "Those lucky to be alive are either injured or grieving." All 10 members of her family are alive, but the bottom half of the house is underground. "Mayon gave us fertile land to till. It took it back in an instant," she added. Canine search team leader Marvy Umali, who conducted a sweep of one section of Maipon two days ago, said 16 bodies were recovered. "No more have been found. The ground is hard, thick sand, mud and debris. "The dogs had a hard time because the site is contaminated. There are dead animals as well as humans," he said. Senator Richard Gordon, the National Red Cross president, said Sunday that he expected the death toll could pass 1,000 as hopes faded of finding further survivors.

Many villages have not yet reported how many residents have died. In some cases, whole families have been buried. "All resources of the government will continue to be mobilized without let-up as we pin hope against hope on the search of survivors," Arroyo said in a statement Sunday. But on the ground Monday there was little evidence that those resources had arrived. In various parts of the Bicol region, southeast of Manila, communities have resorted to mass burials to deal with the scores of unclaimed bodies that were starting to decompose. Power, communications and water remained out of service across most of the region, further hampering relief efforts, as more tales of tragedy and loss came in. The disaster comes after some 30,000 people were evacuated from the slopes of Mayon earlier this year amid signs that the volcano was erupting. However the residents were allowed to return home in September after Mayon simmered down.

These two Wide Swath Mode (ASAR) multilayer images were generated through three images acquired on different dates. Acquired over the island of Luzon (centre Philippines), the images show the different territory morphology before and after the passage of Typhoon Durian.

This Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) image was acquired in near real time over the Philippines after the passage of Typhoon Durian.

This Wide Swath Mode (ASAR) image was acquired in near real time over the central Philippines after the passage of Typhoon Durian.

This Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) image was acquired over the northeast Philippines where Typhoon Durian was located on 28 November 2006. The coastlines have been highlighted in red to define their location.

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