Death toll climbs to 28 after Typhoon Phanfone battered central Philippine islands

Dec. 26 (UPI) -- The death toll continued to climb Friday after Typhoon Phanfone battered the central Philippine islands over Christmas.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in a 6 a.m. update that 28 people have died as a result of the typhoon that battered the Philippines starting Tuesday with maximum sustained winds of 93 mph.

The greatest number of deaths occurred in Iloilo City with 13, including a family of six who died after being swept away in a flood.

The council said two people were injured in Iloilo and at least 12 others throughout the country were missing.

The council had reported a death toll of 21 hours earlier.

Thirty-four passengers were still stranded at Iloilo ports following the typhoon that had originally left nearly 16,000 without ways of returning home.

The typhoon made seven landfalls as it left a trail of destruction in its wake over the central Philippine islands, damaging 2,074 homes, 55 schools and five government facilities, the council said.

St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, Pope Francis offered prayers for those affected by the typhoon, stating "I join in the suffering that has struck the dear people of the Philippines."

As of early Friday, the eye of the storm was located some 220 miles west of Zambales province moving northwest at 6 mph with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph.