MANILA, 4 July 2008 (IRIN) - The Philippines government, international community, and local private sector all provided assistance in response to Fengshen, the first major typhoon to hit the Philippines this year.

"The Philippines' response collectively has been very good," said Andrew MacLeod of the UN Resident Coordinator's Office. "The government was able to handle it very well. It has a good mechanism through the National Disaster Coordinating Council [NDCC]."

Originally predicted not to strike land, Fengshen's irregular movement took the country by surprise. Wind gusts up to 195km per hour and heavy rains caused landslides, flashfloods, and several marine disasters on 21-23 June, killing 781 people, destroying more than 300,000 homes, and causing P11 billion (US$242 million) of damage to agriculture, according to the latest figures from the NDCC.

The typhoon also caused one of the worst marine disasters in the country's recent history. MV Princess of the Stars, carrying 866 people, sank off Romblon province in the Visayas.

The sea accounted for 173 deaths and only 56 survivors have been found. The rest remain unaccounted for, believed to be trapped inside the capsised ferry or carried by the current to nearby islands. The Philippine Coast Guard's recovery operations were aborted when 10 tonnes of Endosulfan, a restricted pesticide for use in pineapple plantations, was discovered in the sunken ferry, the NDCC reported.

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