Tacloban, Philippines: A Philippines city devastated by the typhoon buried some of its dead in a mass grave in a hillside cemetery on Thursday, a small sign of a progress in a relief effort that has yet to reach most of the tens of thousands affected by the disaster.
The ceremony took place in a graveyard just outside the city of Tacloban.
No prayers were said as workers buried 30 bodies enclosed in leaking black cadaver bags into the ground.
"I hope this is the last time I see something like this," said Mayor Alfred Romualdez. "When I look at this it just reminds me of what has happened from the day the storm hit until today."
Officials said efforts had been made to identify the bodies so families have a chance of finding out what happened to their loved ones in the days and weeks to come, but it was not immediately clear whether this included DNA testing.
Authorities say 2,357 people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, but that figure is expected to rise, perhaps significantly, when information is collected from other areas of the disaster zone. Most casualties appear to be concentrated on coastal regions of two main islands - Samar and Leyte, where Tacloban is located.
