Typhoon deaths in Philippines top 140; mayors plead for food

By JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The death toll in the strongest typhoon to batter the Philippines this year has reached at least 146, and the governor of an island province especially hard-hit by Typhoon Rai said there may be even greater devastation that has yet to be reported. Governor Arthur Yap of Bohol province in the central Philippines says 72 people died there, 10 others were missing and 13 injured. He suggested the fatalities may still increase considerably because many mayors have been unable to report back to him due to downed communications. He appealed for food packs and drinking water. Officials on Dinagat Islands, one of the hard-hit provinces first pounded by the typhoon, separately reported 10 deaths from just a few towns.