MANILA - Rescuers retrieved several bodies from flooded districts around the Philippine capital overnight and early Tuesday, raising the toll from Typhoon Chata'an to 27 people dead and four missing.

The total includes three dead and two missing South Koreans from a boat mishap in the central Philippines at the height of the storm, the civil defense office here said. It also said floods and high winds have displaced 24,157 people from their homes.

Chata'an passed close to the northern Philippines on its way to southern Japan over the weekend, pulling the rain-laden southwest monsoon winds in its wake. In addition a second disturbance near the Philippines-Taiwan boundary has developed into a tropical storm.

Nakri, packing maximum winds of 65 kilometers (40 miles) an hour, was tracked 400 kilometers (250 miles) northwest of the Batan island group in the vicinity of western Taiwan at 2:00 pm (0600 GMT). The front was moving northeast at 11 kilometers (seven miles) an hour and exacerbating the monsoon rains that continued to pound the northern and central Philippines. Parts of the Philippine capital have remained under water for two consecutive days with residents using makeshift boats to travel around.

Copyright AFP & WeatherOnline 2002