Thousands of Filipinos returned to washed-out homes today after four deadly storms in two weeks left more than 1,000 people dead or missing, as emergency supplies ran low and fears of disease grew.
"I am appealing for more medicine, ready-to-eat food and bottled water," Social Welfare Secretary Ms Corazon Soliman said after she and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo surveyed collapsed hillsides, flooded fields and ruined buildings.
A break in the weather helped relief efforts but thousands have been displaced in northern and eastern provinces from Typhoon Nanmadol and three tropical storms since late November.
Residents trudged home through the mud to Real and other towns, carrying the few possessions they had salvaged as the storms hit. "You cannot buy anything, even if you have money," said the mayor of the nearby town of General Nakar in Quezon province.
"Stores here were buried." Cholera, hepatitis and other diseases are potential threats and health officials urged people to bury their dead quickly. Dozens of bodies were burned in Real. Arroyo, who visited devastated areas by helicopter, called for tougher laws against illegal logging, which has again been blamed for making a natural disaster even worse.
Low-lying regions like the town of Bulacan, north of Manila, remained under water. In the town of Infanta, logs littered the streets and the stench of corpses hung in the air. "There is no Christmas for us this year," Ms Aleli Murillo said as she cleaned up her small shop. "I don't know if we can recover from this."