Death toll in Philippines rises to 200, still search being conducted

Philippines , Dec 25: Rescuers in the Philippines searched on Sunday for survivors of a storm that triggered floods and landslides and killed about 200 people, left scores missing and thousands homeless, most of whom apparently ignored warnings to move to safety.

Misery in the largely Christian Philippines was compounded by the death of at least 37 people in a shopping mall fire, officials said on Christmas Eve.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons a year and warnings are routinely issued, but the level of destruction wreaked by tropical storm Tembin on the southern island of Mindanao from late on Friday came as a surprise.

"The figure could increase as we continue to received reports from the field as the weather improves," said a police spokesman on Mindanao, superintendent Lemuel Gonda, referring to the death toll.