Philippine floods test rescuers

Rescue workers are being overwhelmed by the scale of floods in the Philippines that are estimated to have killed at least 86 people, officials say. The head of the National Disaster Co-ordinating Council, Anthony Golez, said available resources were being spread too thinly. Torrential rains from Tropical Storm Ketsana flooded the capital Manila and nearby provinces on Saturday.

Some 80% of Manila is said to be under water, with 435,000 people displaced. "We are concentrating on massive relief operations. The system is overwhelmed, local government units are overwhelmed," Mr Golez told reporters. "We were used to helping one city, one or two provinces but now, they are following one after another. Our assets and people are spread too thinly."

Soldiers, police, medics and a huge number of volunteers were involved in the effort to help flood victims, authorities said. Unconfirmed reports say dozens more bodies have been recovered, and one suggested the number of dead had risen to at least 100. Telephone and power services in some parts of the city remained cut, while local government officials said survivors in makeshift evacuation camps were desperately short of food, water and clothes.