Philippine authorities said Wednesday the official death toll over Typhoon Washi (Local name: Sendong) which struck Southern Philippines over the weekend has gone up to more than 1,000.

Washi on Friday night caused massive flash flooding in two southern Philippine cities which were not normally affected by storms passing through the country. The area, however, is surrounded by mountains and water.

The typhoon hit when everyone was asleep, just like a "thief in the night." It is one of the worst calamities to hit the region in documented history.

A total of 1,002 people have been confirmed dead, including 650 in Cagayan de Oro and 283 in nearby Iligan city, said Benito Ramos, head of the Civil Defense Office. The rest were in several other southern and central provinces, Associated Press reports.

"There were many lessons learned by the people who did not listen to national and local governments, but this is not the time to put the blame on them," Ramos told The Associated Press.

Ramos said the government continues to focus on retrieving bodies, most of which are being recovered from the sea off Cagayan de Oro.

"We've lost count of the missing," he told AP.

President Benigno Aquino III declared a state of national calamity during a visit to the affected areas on Tuesday. He promised his government "will do its best to prevent a repeat of this tragedy."

Local authorities said on Tuesday night they are going to hold off the mass burial for the dead in the hopes of identifying the bodies for a proper burial.

The military has moved to help transport coffins to the South as local funeral homes could no longer accommodate the number of dead.

Local officials are expected to manage the situation as the stench from the decomposing bodies of the casualties threaten the health of the tragedy's survivors.

Private, international, and state organizations have been helping the survivors, with the World Vision focused on taking care of the traumatized children.

Local news TV Patrol reported a group of teachers used their Christmas party budget worth about US$1,000 to feed the children in evacuation centers.

Meanwhile, about 45,000 people are still crowded in separate evacuation centers in the affected provinces, and lack of running water is becoming a major concern.