Typhoon toll rises to 23 in Philippines
Reuters, Manila
The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year rose to 23 yesterday, as rescue workers rushed to clear landslides and send food and medicine to isolated areas, disaster officials said. Thousands of people were displaced by typhoon Mindulle, which packed winds of 118 miles per hour and gusts of up to 140 miles per hour as it swept past the northern region of the main Luzon island. Crop and infrastructure damage was estimated at $9.8 million, mostly in rice- and corn-growing areas in Cagayan Valley region, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo boarded a navy rubber boat on Friday to distribute relief goods to nearly 200,000 residents in Cagayan province, which bore the brunt of the storm. "I want immediate measures to restore agricultural capacity," said Arroyo, in a statement she read before inspecting villages affected by typhoon in Cagayan province.
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