The death toll of Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines has exceeded 700 and hundreds of people are still missing, the government has said.Typhoon Bopha unleashed floods and landslides across the main southern island of Mindanao on December 4, obliterating entire communities.At least 714 people were killed, making the typhoon the deadliest natural disaster in the Philippines since a tropical storm killed more than 1,200 people last year. The civil defence office said that around 115,000 houses have been destroyed, and more than 116,000 people remain in government shelter as they are likely to wait months for new housing to be constructed.The government said that a total of 890 people remain missing, many of them include at least 313 deep sea fishermen who are feared lost at sea.Al Jazeera’s Marga Ortigas reporting from the Compostela Valley, one of the worst affected areas in the country’s south, said that people there were “overwhelmed” by the typhoon.She said that evacuation warnings were sounded, but because the area was not used to experiencing typhoons as strong as Bopha, “many people did not understand what the warnings meant”.“By the time many of the people thought to evacuate their homes, it was too late.” On Monday, the Philippines government and the United Nations launched a $65m global appeal for help, as at least 5.4 million people desperately need food and water.Luiza Carvalho, country officer for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that the funds would initially help provide food, water and emergency shelter to 480,000 people in the worst-hit areas.
