UN: Philippines crisis “like tsunami”
A man carries a child along a flooded street during typhoon Nesat east of Manila on September 27, 2011. Typhoon Washi has claimed over 700 lives in the southern part of the region so far, officials reported.
A flooding nightmare in the southern Philippines, brought on by sudden late-season storms, is equivalent to a tsunami.
That's the estimation, at least, of a lead U.N. coordinator now pleading for $28 million in aid.
According to the Associated Press, U.N. humanitarian coordinator Soe Nyunt-U said the damage was “as if the cities were hit by an inland tsunami …. entire areas were completely flattened."
And the death toll continues to climb. Just days ago, 900 was the top estimate.
Now, media outlets such as Al-Jazeera report that at least 1,000 are confirmed dead and 45,000 are living out of evac centers.