Philippine flood toll exceeds 900

AFP - The death toll from a destructive storm that hit the southern Philippines has risen to 927, the head of the government disaster monitoring council said late Monday.

The devastated port cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan on Mindanao island have borne most of the deaths from tropical storm Washi.

France24 reports on the devastation in the Philippines

The huge death toll came as government relief workers recovered more bodies from Mindanao where Washi brought heavy rains, flash floods and overflowing rivers that swept away whole villages over the weekend.

"927 dead. We lost count for those still missing," Benito Ramos, head of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in a short statement, giving the latest casualty figures.

This was a sharp increase from the council's previous figures of 662 dead and 82 missing issued mere hours earlier.

Ramos did not say why the death toll had gone up so abruptly.

The Philippine Red Cross, which is doing its own tally, reported 713 dead and 563 missing in its own statement.