After days of wading through mud and floodwaters, exhausted residents today scrambled for a seat on a helicopter or a ferry to escape coastal villages ravaged by back-to-back storms that killed at least 568 people and left as many missing.

Philippine officials are seeking international help to rebuild villages devastated by back-to-back storms that left more than 1,100 people either dead or missing and devastated mostly poor northern agricultural regions.

Philippine officials sought international help today to rebuild villages devastated by back-to-back storms that left more than 1,100 people either dead or missing and devastated mostly poor northern agricultural regions.

Winds and rain from an approaching typhoon hampered rescue efforts today in the eastern Philippines, where at least 350 people died in flash floods and landslides in the storm-weary region.

The death toll from landslides and flash floods in the eastern Philippines has jumped to nearly 350, with 150 others missing, most in a region still reeling from last week’s deadly typhoon.