The death toll in the Philippines from the strongest typhoon ever to make landfall has reached 5,719, with 1,779 still missing, dpa cited the government as saying Wednesday. Most of the dead or 4,882 were from the worst-hit province of Leyte, the national disaster relief agency said. Over 26,000 were injured and more than 4 million people displaced after Typhoon Haiyan struck the eastern Philippines on November 8. Some 1.2 million houses were destroyed and damage to agriculture and infrastructure was estimated at more than 803 million dollars, the agency said. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the relief operation needed to expand to reach more remote areas and islands. The UN has appealed for 348 million dollars in funding to implement life-saving and early recovery programmes in the typhoon-ravaged communities.
