Official death toll reaches 1,744 in Philippines

, Nov 12: The government has raised the official death toll from the

typhoon disaster to 1,744 people, with the final number expected to be much higher.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council also said in a statement today that 2,487 people had been hurt after Typhoon Haiyan struck the eastern Philippines four days ago.

But both figures are expected to climb drastically, with authorities estimating that the storm killed 10,000 or more across a vast region of the country, and displaced about 660,000 others. On Thursday, thousands of survivors were swarming airports seeking flights to safer areas.

PTI