Philippines braces for new storm as toll hits 246

By Raju Gopalakrishnan

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine authorities braced on Tuesday for another storm as the toll from rain and floods from a weekend typhoon, now bearing down on Vietnam, rose to 246 dead while damages climbed to nearly $100 million.

Weather forecasters said a new storm forming in the Pacific Ocean was likely to enter Philippine waters on Thursday and make landfall later in the week on the northern island of Luzon, just like Saturday's Typhoon Ketsana.

Ketsana dumped more than a month's worth of average rainfall on Manila and surrounding areas in one 24-hour period. About 80 percent of the city of 15 million was flooded.

The Philippine government has come in for scathing criticism for its response to the disaster, with many calling it inadequate and delayed.

Authorities estimated damage from the storm so far at around 4.69 billion pesos ($98.5 million). More than 1.9 million people were affected and 375,000 had abandoned their homes and taken refuge in evacuation centers.

More than 3,000 houses were either damaged or destroyed.

The death toll could rise further once reports come in from remote areas. The storm hit metropolitan Manila and 12 provinces. Dozens remained missing and feared dead, disaster officials said.

"For casualties, the increase will be not as great, but the damage figures may increase," Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro told a news conference on Tuesday.