The Phillipines tragedy is very very sad. The Philippines government says 240 people are now know to have died in flooding caused by Tropical Storm Ketsana, the AFP news agency reports. The country has appealed for foreign aid to deal with the disaster, which has displaced more than 450,000 people.

Some 374,890 people are living in makeshift shelters, three times more than previously reported. Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said the situation could become worse if aid supplies run out. The latest death toll is a sharp rise from the previously announced figure of 190 dead. In a statement reported by AFP, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said the rise came after more than 90 deaths were recorded in Manila.

Earlier, Mr Teodoro appealed for humanitarian assistance from the international community. “We are trying our level best to provide basic necessities, but the potential for a more serious situation is there,” he said, in a nationally televised address. “We cannot wait for that to happen.”