The confirmed death toll reached 425 with 599 reported missing on Monday after super typhoon Durian hit the Philippines, said the National Disaster Coordinating Council ( NDCC).

NDCC Deputy Administrator Anthony Golez said the number of corpses has risen to 425 from Sunday's count of 406 while the missing have reached 599 from 302. He said at least 324 were reported injured in the typhoon.

Most of the fatalities took place in the villages near the Mount Mayon volcano where torrential rains brought down by super ash and stones from the slopes of the volcano, burying hundreds of people alive on Thursday.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared a state of national calamity on Sunday and ordered the release of one billion pesos (US$20 million) for recovery operations in areas hit by typhoon Durian.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2006)