'Santi' death toll reaches 19

Agence France-Presse | 11/03/2009 3:27 PM

MANILA - The National Disaster Coordinating Council on Tuesday reported three more deaths from Typhoon Santi, raising the death toll left by the storm to 19.

The NDCC said the deaths were due mostly to drowning and occurred in suburban areas just south of Manila and in two eastern provinces.

Three other people are missing primarily due to flash floods, the council said. Almost 16,000 people are still in evacuation centers three days after the typhoon hit.

Floodwaters remain waist-deep or higher in Laguna province south of Manila and in Pangasinan to the north, after Mirinae dumped more rain on areas already inundated by two previous deadly storms.

Waters reached as high as 10-feet (3.1 meters) in some places during the height of Mirinae