The Philippine government shipped more than 400 coffins Tuesday to two flood-stricken cities in the south where the death toll neared 1,000 as President Benigno Aquino III declared a state of national calamity and relief agencies rushed to help.
The latest count listed 957 dead and 49 missing and is set to climb further as additional bodies are being recovered from the sea and mud in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro cities.
CBS News' Barnaby Lo reports that the biggest problems for officials in Iligan, at the epicenter of the flooding, are the shortage of coffins for the dead, and food and clean drinking water for the survivors. He says there are long lines for water all around the city, and evacuation centers remain overcrowded.
A mass burial was to be held later Tuesday in Iligan, reports Lo. Local officials say it's necessary to prevent the health risk to the public, but families who still can't find their loved ones are appealing to the government not to bury unidentified dead.
A handful of morgues are overwhelmed and running out of coffins and formaldehyde for embalming. Aid workers appealed for bottled water, blankets, tents and clothes for many of 45,000 displaced in crowded evacuation centers.
Navy sailors in Manila loaded a ship with 437 white, wooden coffins to help local authorities handle the staggering number of dead. Also on the way were containers with thousands of water bottles.
Most of the dead were women and children who drowned Friday night when flash floods triggered by a tropical storm gushed into homes while people were asleep.
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