MANILA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Philippine authorities are verifying reports of 27 deaths as severe weather continues to affect nearly 5.4 million people in the Southeast Asian country, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Wednesday.
The number of injured from recent extreme rainfall triggered by tropical cyclones and the southwest monsoon stood at 17, with one person still missing, said the OCD, adding that a total of 206 houses were destroyed and 1,787 others damaged.
Around 461 evacuation centers are sheltering over 12,000 families, while assistance provided to the affected communities has reached 797 million pesos (about 13 million U.S. dollars), said OCD information officer Diego Mariano. ■