MANILA, 23 June 2008 (IRIN) - Typhoon Fengshen moved out of the Philippines on 23 June towards China, leaving at least 224 dead, hundreds missing and thousands homeless, according to the Philippine National Red Cross and Office of Civil Defence. Heavy rains and winds of up to 195km an hour caused landslides, flash floods and storm surges.

The number of fatalities exludes the passengers and crew of the MV Princess of Stars, which sank off Romblon Island in the Visayas. The ferry, bound for Cebu Island, Central Visayas, was carrying more than 800 people. Four bodies were washed ashore, while about 30 survivors were found. The rest remain unaccounted for, according to National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) spokesman Anthony Golez.

"Our priority now is the relief and rescue operations for the victims of the typhoon, including those who are in the sunken ship," Golez told IRIN.

The island region of Western Visayas was worst hit and is the priority area for relief and rescue operations, Golez said.

"Last Saturday and Sunday [21 and 22 June], the province was one big sea," said Governor Sally Perez of Antique province in Western Visayas, where 34 people were found dead and 70 are still missing. Perez is the chief of the provincial disaster coordinating council.

In other areas, the water was reportedly as high as a double-storey house. In Iloilo, Western Visayas, about 30,000 residents reportedly climbed on to rooftops to flee the rushing water from an overflowing dam.

Aerial assessment

Golez said the government flew two C-130 planes to the area on 23 June to assess the damage and provide relief supplies. The strong winds had prevented the earlier delivery of goods by helicopter. Authorities say that only after the aerial assessment would they know the full extent of the damage.

"The priority is feeding our hungry people," Perez told IRIN. She added that they did not have sufficient clothing or medicines.

"We need drinking water, rice, noodles, blankets, and clothes," added Iloilo Congressman Raul Gonzalez Jr. "At the height of the typhoon on Saturday [21 June], the local government began distributing rice but it was spoiled by the torrential rain before it could be delivered by truck. Even the National Food Authority warehouse [where government-distributed rice is kept] was under water."

Many other areas of the country were under water. Typhoon Fengshen passed over central Luzon - the "rice granary" of the Philippines - on its way out of the country. Several provinces in the region were still submerged on 23 June, and fatal flash floods and landslides were reported in several parts of Mindanao on 21 June.

The Department of Agriculture reported that damage to crops had reached nearly P555 million (US$12.6 million), affecting an estimated 246,000 hectares of rice farms.

Antique province alone estimated a loss of P100 million, said Perez. "About 2,000 hectares of agricultural land is now unusable," she said.

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