Rescuers search for more bodies in the Philippines

Nearly 200 people have died and more than 5 billion pesos (67 million pounds) in crops and infrastructure were lost after a week of heavy rains from Typhoon Parma, said Lieutenant-Colonel Ernesto Torres, spokesman for the national disaster agency.

"We're trying to retrieve more bodies from under collapsed houses buried by mud," Torres said, adding rescuers were only using shovels and bare hands to avoid another landslide.

"Dozens of people are still missing. We have heavy equipment there, but our rescuers are very cautious because they are also at risk. We lost three men who were buried by loosened soil while trying to pull out some bodies in La Trinidad town."

Torres said soldiers were also rushing to clear up all access roads to vegetable-growing and mining provinces in the northern mountain region due to concerns over low food and fuel supplies.

"As of now, food and relief materials can only be delivered by helicopters because it would take 2-5 days to clear up roads and bridges washed out by floods and landslides."

Besides setting off landslides in the mountains, the rains, dumped by Typhoon Parma, has swollen rivers and reservoirs, forcing dams used for hydropower and irrigation to release water and causing more flooding in areas downstream.

Parma first hit the Philippines on October 3 and hovered around the northern part of Luzon throughout the week. It has since weakened into a tropical depression and moved out to sea.

The floods and mudslides came two weeks after another storm, Ketsana, inundated areas in and around the capital Manila, killing at least 337 people and forcing half a million from their homes.

Total damage from the two storms on production of rice, the country's staple, was estimated at 478,000 tonnes, equivalent to 7 percent of the forecast harvest of 6.5 million tonnes in the fourth quarter, said Jesus Emmanuel Paras, Agriculture undersecretary for operations.

Manila, the world's biggest rice buyer, is considering importing rice to augment its supply for 2010 after the typhoon damage, with Vietnam and Thailand eager to provide the grain.

(Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Bill Tarrant)