Manila - The Philippines on Tuesday braced for new storms as the death toll in devastating floods brought by Tropical Storm Ketsana climbed to at least 246 with 38 people still missing. The weather bureau said a tropical depression could enter the Philippines' area as early as Tuesday night.
Nilo Prisco, head of the bureau, said the "worst-case scenario" was the depression would make landfall in the northern Philippines early next week.
"The general direction is towards [the northern region of] Luzon, but it may still veer towards Taiwan," he said, adding that the bureau was also monitoring a second weather disturbance.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the repositioning of assets and resources to the areas the new storms could potentially hit to avoid a similar disaster as that brought about by Ketsana.
"We have to have forced evacuations as soon as we know where the next depressions will hit," she said. "Those that have already evacuated must not be allowed to return."
Arroyo said the government was exhausting all means to help those affected by the disaster amid criticism that the response was slow.
"We have responded to the best of our limits in this once-in-a-lifetime typhoon emergency," she said.
The number of fatalities from Ketsana's onslaught was expected to rise as relief workers find bodies while cleaning up thick mud that has blanketed Manila and the surrounding provinces, officials said.
In one town south of Manila, seven bodies tied together by a rope were found buried in mud while 10 were recovered on the shores of a river east of the capital.
Rescuers said some bodies were also seen hanging on mud-covered trees.
Nearly 2 million people were affected by the deluge in Manila and northern provinces, overwhelming the government's capacity to provide relief, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said.
More than 370,000 of those affected were forced to stay in cramped and squalid evacuation centres, the council said.
International aid began to trickle in after the Philippines issued an appeal for help Monday with pledged assistance so far reaching 4.12 million dollars.
Among the foreign donors were the European Commission, which earmarked 2 million euros (2.9 million dollars) for urgent relief funding, and Australia, which would provide about 900,000 dollars.
The government was struggling to cope with the disaster, the worst to hit Manila in more than four decades, leaving a number of the affected areas without national assistance.
"Other areas also need our attention aside from metropolitan Manila," Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro admitted. "Some local government units are hard up right now."
Teodoro said the government was preparing to mount a massive cleanup operation to help Manila and other affected areas get back on their feet after the disaster.
He said authorities would tap police and military recruits and trainees, college students and volunteers to help.
Authorities noted that aside from mud, stalled vehicles and other debris littered many streets in the affected provinces.
In some areas, appliances such as refrigerators were seen sitting on top of electrical posts while vehicles were piled on top of each other on roads.
Amid reports of looting, national police spokesman Senior Superintendent Leonardo Espina said police outposts were being set up in affected areas.
"The chief also directed the deployment of all available personnel and forces for round-the-clock security and crime prevention," he said.
Ketsana struck the Philippines Saturday, dumping one month's worth of rain in Manila and outlying provinces. The rainfall was the heaviest in the capital since 1967.
Damage to property and agriculture was estimated at 4.69 billion pesos (99.8 million dollars).
