Philippines flood toll hits 957

Three policemen, including two officers, have been confirmed dead due to Tropical Storm Washin, in a southern Philippine province, a military spokesperson said on Tuesday, as authorities and survivors are grappling with the problem of burying almost a thousand dead.

The photo shows the disaster-hit residents in Philippines on Dec. 17, 2011. Flash floods triggered by a tropical storm have killed nearly 1000 people in southern Philippine cities, and the disaster is becoming more serious.

Those killed lawmen included a police captain and a lieutenant who were supposed to assist in the rescue operations of flood victims in Bukidnon province, said Colonel Leopoldo Galon, spokesperson of the military's Eastern Mindanao Command.

"With the number of victims still unaccounted for, the toll may even surpass 1,000," Colonel Galon said, adding a police officer is still among those missing in Bukidnon province.

Galon identified the fatalities as Senior Inspector Arnold Bustarde, Inspector Charlito Penullar and Senior Police Officer Charlon Edrote.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on its 6 a.m. bulletin said a total of 957 people have so far been confirmed dead, 579 of whom in Cagayan de Oro city alone. In nearby Iligan, the other hardest-hit port city, 279 bodies have been counted.

Arsenio Alagenio, provincial disaster officer for Bukidnon said 25 bodies have been recovered in his province, and 91 others remain unaccounted for. He said authorities are now into search and retrieval operations as the chance of finding more survivors is becoming slim.

In Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, local officials have decided to bury many dead into mass graves due to decomposing bodies and a shortage of coffins and embalming chemicals. On Monday, relatives buried 16 victims in Bukidnon province, according to officials.