Philippine flood death toll rises to 60

The number of people killed in floods that submerged most of the Philippine capital Manila and parts of surrounding provinces this week has risen to 60, the government said Friday.

The death toll was triple the number confirmed on Thursday, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Another seven people were missing, it said in a statement.

The higher tally appeared to be mostly due to the council reporting deaths that occurred earlier in the week from areas outside of Manila, rather than new fatalities.

More than a month's worth of rain was dumped on Manila in 48 hours at the start of the week, leaving about 80 percent of the capital underwater and flooding vast farming areas to the north.

The number of people officially affected by the floods also rose to 2.44 million people, from 2.1 million recorded on Thursday, the council said.

Of those, 362,000 are sheltering in evacuation centres, according to the council.

AFP