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The Philippines government reports that 240 persons are known to have died in severe flooding caused by Tropical Storm Ketsana.

The country has appealed for foreign aid to deal with the disaster which has displaced more than 450,000 persons, including 375,000 who are in makeshift shelters.

Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said the situation will worsen if aid supplies are exhausted.

The rise in the death toll – 100more than the previous number – came after more than 90 deaths were recorded in Manila, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said.

Army troops, policemen and volunteers have been able to rescue more than 8,900 people, and the United Nations World Food Programme is sending food supplies for 180,000 people to the Philippines.

WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said that it would support the Philippines to ensure a “swift and coordinated recovery effort.”

Rescue workers continue to pull bodies from the mud and swollen rivers.

But the rescue operations are focusing on providing food, medicine and other necessities to those in emergency shelters who have been displaced.

The head of the National Disaster Co-ordinating Council, Anthony Golez, said, “We are concentrating on massive relief operations. The system is overwhelmed, local government units are overwhelmed.

“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.”

Tropical Storm Ketsana hit Luzon, Philippines on Saturday and drenched 25 provinces with record-breaking rainfall. In 12 hours of Saturday, more than 40 cm (16 inches) of rain fell on Manila, which usually receives an average of 39 cm average for the entire month. Unbelievable.