Philippine soldiers and rescue workers scoured the ruins of the Cherry Hills housing estate in Manila for survivors yesterday, as relatives of the dozens still buried three days after the disaster said they had given up hope.
Rescue workers said they had so far found 33 bodies. Between 30 to 40 people are believed to be still buried. The deaths bring to 92 the number of confirmed dead from electrocution, drowning and landslides in Manila and nearby provinces as a result of heavy rains and floods which began last weekend.
Violent floods have killed seven people and seriously injured dozens in China's remote north-west, the Xinhua news agency said yesterday.
Deluges fed by heavy rain and hailstorms in the past three days have affected 100,000 people in the north-western province of Qinghai.
The report did not say whether the rains had swollen the upper reaches of the Yellow River, which is fed by tributaries in the province. Experts had warned the river could break its banks.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Civil Affairs put the national death toll from floods at 725, nearly double earlier reports.