Aquino to CNN: Death toll at least 2,500, not 10,000

[brooklynite]

Source: Manila Bulletin

President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday downgraded earlier estimates of possibly 10,000 deaths due to Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) to 2,000 or 2,500.

Aquino, in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, said the 10,000 figure is “too much” and probably made by provincial officials who were “too close” to all the devastation to make an objective estimate.

In the interview, Aquino said government agencies still need to reach 29 municipalities more to make an account of their casualties.

“So far 2,000 to 2,500 is the number we are working on as far as deaths are concerned,” Aquino told Amanpour.

Read more: http://www.mb.com.ph/aquino-to-cnn-death-toll-at-least-2500-not-10000/

[Hestia]

1. Why are officials pressured to downplay and downgrade the death numbers on disasters?

Do you really believe on 1,500 +/- in NOLA in 2005, now 2,500 though we have seen entire towns, villages, and cities literally wiped out in the Philippines. "Too close" my hind foot.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Number was revised yesterday.

There is no lucid explanation re. where the 10,000 figure came from in the first place. Its bad all the same.

[PatrynXX]

5. thats actually probably false info

people on the ground disagree with the 2500 estimate... thats about all I know. thought it was a set in stone number but just a president downgrading a number for whatever reason

[Mojorabbit]

3. It does seem odd

Just from the photos of one town with multitudes of corpses bagged on the street I was expecting the 10000 number to rise after all was said and done. There was also a high number of people missing that may have washed out to sea. Weird.

[uppityperson]

4. Accurate predictions are hard to do and even 2000 is way too many.