Story highlights The numbers of dead and missing are likely to rise further, an official warns

Typhoon Bopha has so far killed 714 people in the Philippines

Another 890 people are missing, including hundreds of fishermen

Hundreds of thousands of survivors have been severely affected by the destruction

The death toll from the destructive typhoon that savaged the southern Philippines last week has climbed above 700, authorities said Tuesday, warning that the final number may be much higher.

Nearly 900 people are still unaccounted for in the aftermath of Typhoon Bopha, the strongest and deadliest storm to hit the Philippines this year, according to the country's emergency management agency.

The numbers of dead and missing have risen drastically during the past several days as government officials have gathered information from isolated areas where the scale of the devastation was previously unknown.

Both of the grim totals are likely to increase further this week, said Benito Ramos, head of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the emergency agency. Search and rescue efforts are continuing, he said, despite the declining chances of finding people alive.

"We are still hoping against hope that there are still survivors," he said by telephone, adding that some of the hundreds of fishermen reported missing after the storm could yet be found sheltering on small islands out at sea.

If only a few of those missing are found alive, Bopha could eventually prove more deadly than Tropical Storm Washi, which killed 1,268 people a year ago. But its toll would still remain far below that of Tropical Storm Thelma, the country's most lethal storm on record that left more than 5,000 people dead in 1991.

Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Residents look at the lists of missing relatives displayed near the municipal hall in New Bataan, Compostela province on Wednesday, December 12, nearly one week after the southern part of the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Bopha. Bopha, the strongest cyclone to hit the Philippines in decades, has taken more than 700 lives and hundreds remain missing, the government said on December 11. The United Nations launched a $65 million global appeal on December 10 to help survivors. Hide Caption 1 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Philippine navy personnel arrange donated coffins aboard the BRP Laguna, which is set to transport relief supplies from a base in Cavite City, on Tuesday, December 11, in the aftermath of Typhoon Bopha. Hide Caption 2 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – A woman stands next to her destroyed house in Boston, Davao Oriental province, on December 11. Hide Caption 3 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Uprooted coconut trees lay in the mountains of Cateel, Davao Oriental province, on December 11. Hide Caption 4 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Clothes hang next to destroyed houses and toppled trees in the town of Cateel, Davao Oriental province, on December 11. Hide Caption 5 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – A resident stands on his destroyed house in Cateel on December 11. Hide Caption 6 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Victims of Typhoon Bopha jostle for position as they beg for relief food in New Bataan in Compostela Valley province on Sunday, December 9. Hide Caption 7 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Residents in New Bataan mourn near coffins of relatives who died during flash floods caused by Typhoon Bopha on Saturday, December 8. Hide Caption 8 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – A resident sits next to coffins at the old market in New Bataan on December 8. Hide Caption 9 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – A man feeds his children at an evacuation center for victims of Typhoon Bopha in the town of Maparat in Compostela Valley province on December 8. Hide Caption 10 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Typhoon Bopha toppled thousands of banana trees on a plantation in New Bataan, Compostela Valley province, in the Philippines on Friday, December 7. Hide Caption 11 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – A crowd of Filipino flood victims wait for relief goods inside a sports complex that has been turned into a temporary evacuation center in New Bataan, Compostela Valley, on December 7. Hide Caption 12 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Residents queue up to receive relief goods from the government in the town of New Bataan, Philippines, on Thursday, December 6. Hide Caption 13 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – A resident cuts branches of a toppled tree in Montevista, Philippines, on December 6. It fell onto his house at the height of Typhoon Bopha. Hide Caption 14 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Residents stand next to a vehicle washed up among debris along a river in New Bataan on December 6. Hide Caption 15 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – A rescue worker carries an elderly resident across a surging river in New Bataan on December 6. Hide Caption 16 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Children retrieve a bicycle among boulders near destroyed houses in New Bataan on December 6. Hide Caption 17 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Philippine soldiers patrol New Bataan, in the Compostela Valley, Philippines, as they look for flood survivors on Wednesday, December 5. Hide Caption 18 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – A worker surveys destroyed banana trees at a plantation in Montevista, Compostela Valley, on December 5. Hide Caption 19 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – A woman sorts out clothes and belongings in front of her damaged house in Montevista on December 5. Hide Caption 20 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Residents cross a road destroyed at the height of Typhoon Bopha in the village of Andap, New Bataan township, Compostela Valley province on December 5. Hide Caption 21 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – These boulders cascaded into New Bataan township. This picture was taken December 5. Hide Caption 22 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Residents clean their sofa next to their damaged house in New Bataan township on December 5. Hide Caption 23 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Red Cross volunteers assist a rescued child in New Bataan on December 5. Hide Caption 24 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Residents gather their belongings after their house was destroyed by strong winds brought about by the storm in Cagayan de Oro City, on the southern island of Mindanao, on Tuesday, December 4. Hide Caption 25 of 26 Photos: Deadly flooding in the Philippines Deadly flooding in the Philippines – Residents walk down a road covered in debris after the storm in New Bataan on December 5. Hide Caption 26 of 26

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The worst of the death and destruction from Bopha took place on the southern island of Mindanao, where the storm hit first and hardest with gusts as strong as 220 kph (138 mph). In the provinces of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, the heavy rain set off flash floods and landslides that engulfed whole neighborhoods , and the winds ripped apart fragile houses.

Many residents were unprepared or unaware of the typhoon's threat to the region, which rarely experiences tropical cyclones of such magnitude. Bopha, known locally as Pablo, was the most powerful typhoon to hit Mindanao in decades.

Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental account for the vast majority of the 714 people killed and for most of the 890 still missing nationwide. A week after the typhoon struck, survivors there are facing many obstacles to rebuilding their lives.

Hundreds of thousands of people are living in evacuation centers or relying on the government for other kinds of assistance, according to the national emergency agency.

And hundreds more, who have not been able to find refuge in the centers, line the roads of Compostela Valley, said Arlo Ramos, a relief worker in the region for World Vision, a humanitarian group.

"During the daytime, they stand along the side of the road, they ask for food," he said. At night, they sleep in small, makeshift shelters cobbled together out of bits of wood and canvas scavenged from the debris, he added.

In New Bataan, the town at the heart of the devastation, dead bodies are still being found and lined up in an open space in front of an evacuation center, according to Arlo Ramos.

When aid workers or government officials arrive in the town, he said, residents crowd around them, hoping to get the food or water they desperately need, he said.

The region's prospects for longer term recovery are also bleak, since the storm laid waste to a great deal of the agricultural land on which many residents rely for their livelihood.

"Farming communities have been the worst hit and it could take many years for them to fully recover," said Paul del Rosario, the humanitarian program coordinator for the charity Oxfam

The United Nations has announced a global appeal to try to raise $65 million to help those affected by the storm. And Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, who visited New Bataan and other severely affected areas last week, has declared a state of national calamity, which releases emergency funds and puts price controls on basic goods.

Finger pointing has also begun among officials over the reasons why so many people lost their lives. Local authorities have been criticized for not anticipating the scale of the destruction.

And a member of Aquino's government, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, has said illegal logging and mining contributed to the landslides and flash floods on Mindanao.

Paje has implemented measures aimed at clamping down on logging in Philippine forests.