Typhoon death toll tops 3,600 in Philippines

Manila, Nov 16: Philippine authorities on Friday raised the

toll from super

Haiyan to 3,621, hours after the UN said at least 4,400 people had died in the central region of the archipelago.

The head of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Eduardo del Rosario, said that the number of injured has risen to 12,165 and that another 1,140 are still missing.

A week after Haiyan blasted the Philippine coasts, Del Rosario acknowledged the logistical problems that have slowed the count of those killed in the storm.

Haiyan, which now ranks as the third worst natural disaster in the history of the Philippines, spread mass destruction in several provinces with maximum sustained winds of over 240 kph.

"Typhoon Haiyan and Hurricane Katrina - which in 2005 struck the US Gulf Coast - had the same power. If the United States was slow in responding to that meteorological disaster, why wouldn't a developing country be equally slow," aid worker Daniel Burgui said.

IANS/EFE