Residents look at the lists of missing relatives displayed near the municipal hall in New Bataan, Compostela province on Wednesday, December 12, nearly one week after the southern part of the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Bopha. Bopha, the strongest cyclone to hit the Philippines in decades, has taken more than 700 lives and hundreds remain missing, the government said on December 11. The United Nations launched a $65 million global appeal on December 10 to help survivors.
(CNN) -- Philippine President Benigno Aquino III declared a state of national calamity as the death toll from Typhoon Bopha, the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year, continued to climb.
At least 540 people have died since the typhoon, known locally as "Pablo," hit Tuesday, the Philippines' emergency management agency said Sunday, while nearly 1,100 are reported injured.
Another 827 people have been reported missing, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.
Aquino's declaration of a state of national calamity will allow local governments to access funds for rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts in their areas, the official Philippine News Agency said.
Map: Mindanao
Map: Mindanao 
Rescue and recovery in the Philippines
Typhoon Bopha causes destruction
Residents seek comfort after Bopha
The declaration will also help national and international aid reach stricken communities, and will mean price controls are imposed on basic goods, the news agency said.
The U.S. Defense Department said it will assist in relief operations, with an emphasis on reaching communities isolated by infrastructure damage.
Among the worst hit areas was the poor, remote Compostela Valley region on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, where thousands of flimsy houses have been ripped to shreds.
Scores of people died, many them swept away in flash floods that roared down from the hills.
The epicenter of the devastation appears to have been in New Bataan, a town about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Montevista and close to the steep mountains.
The flash floods hit it head-on Tuesday, washing away families huddled in their homes and soldiers stationed in a compound in the town.
On Friday, Aquino visited the area, as well as Boston, in Davao Oriental, to see the destruction for himself, the PNA said.
He ordered government agencies to speed up relief efforts and the reconstruction of roads and bridges to help much needed supplies and assistance reach the affected areas.
"I have Mindanao on my mind, especially the number of people missing. I am hoping these people will be found safe and sound," Aquino was quoted as saying ahead of the visit.
The president said he was saddened that some families would spend the holidays in evacuation centers because their homes were destroyed.
Rescuers struggle to aid Philippines storm victims
Large parts of New Bataan and many of the people who lived there are now buried under mud, fallen trees and rubble, said Arnaldo Arcadio, an emergency response program manager for Catholic Relief Services, a humanitarian group.
"The mood is really gloomy," he said Thursday after visiting the town, where 90% to 95% of the houses are believed to have been destroyed or damaged.
Residents who evaded death now lack food, shelter and, most of all, drinking water, since the nearest source is 5 kilometers away, according to Arcadio.
"They are just trying to survive," he said, noting that the knee-deep mud in many places made it difficult to get around, with several areas of the town completely inaccessible.
Bopha raked across Mindanao and several other Philippine islands before moving off into the South China Sea.
The powerful typhoon brought savage winds that uprooted entire banana plantations in low-lying areas, and relentless rain that unleashed torrents of rocks and mud down the mountainsides where shanty-dwelling miners dig for gold.
Preemptive action was taken in northern Mindanao, expected to feel the full force of the typhoon, but in the end it was the less prepared communities of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, further south and east, that bore the brunt. Many people either didn't hear warnings or didn't heed them, expecting the typhoon to hit further north, as usually happens.
The disaster has left about a quarter of a million homeless and affected more than 5 million people overall, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Friday.
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CNN's Laura Smith-Spark, Joseph Netto, Liz Neisloss and Jethro Mullen contributed to this report.
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Philippine navy personnel arrange donated coffins aboard the BRP Laguna, which is set to transport relief supplies from a base in Cavite City, on Tuesday, December 11, in the aftermath of Typhoon Bopha.
A woman stands next to her destroyed house in Boston, Davao Oriental province, on December 11.
Uprooted coconut trees lay in the mountains of Cateel, Davao Oriental province, on December 11.
Clothes hang next to destroyed houses and toppled trees in the town of Cateel, Davao Oriental province, on December 11.
A resident stands on his destroyed house in Cateel on December 11.
Victims of Typhoon Bopha jostle for position as they beg for relief food in New Bataan in Compostela Valley province on Sunday, December 9.
Residents in New Bataan mourn near coffins of relatives who died during flash floods caused by Typhoon Bopha on Saturday, December 8.
A resident sits next to coffins at the old market in New Bataan on December 8.
A man feeds his children at an evacuation center for victims of Typhoon Bopha in the town of Maparat in Compostela Valley province on December 8.
Typhoon Bopha toppled thousands of banana trees on a plantation in New Bataan, Compostela Valley province, in the Philippines on Friday, December 7.
A crowd of Filipino flood victims wait for relief goods inside a sports complex that has been turned into a temporary evacuation center in New Bataan, Compostela Valley, on December 7.
Residents queue up to receive relief goods from the government in the town of New Bataan, Philippines, on Thursday, December 6.
A resident cuts branches of a toppled tree in Montevista, Philippines, on December 6. It fell onto his house at the height of Typhoon Bopha.
Residents stand next to a vehicle washed up among debris along a river in New Bataan on December 6.
A rescue worker carries an elderly resident across a surging river in New Bataan on December 6.
Children retrieve a bicycle among boulders near destroyed houses in New Bataan on December 6.
Philippine soldiers patrol New Bataan, in the Compostela Valley, Philippines, as they look for flood survivors on Wednesday, December 5.
A worker surveys destroyed banana trees at a plantation in Montevista, Compostela Valley, on December 5.
A woman sorts out clothes and belongings in front of her damaged house in Montevista on December 5.
Residents cross a road destroyed at the height of Typhoon Bopha in the village of Andap, New Bataan township, Compostela Valley province on December 5.
These boulders cascaded into New Bataan township. This picture was taken December 5.
Residents clean their sofa next to their damaged house in New Bataan township on December 5.
Red Cross volunteers assist a rescued child in New Bataan on December 5.
Residents gather their belongings after their house was destroyed by strong winds brought about by the storm in Cagayan de Oro City, on the southern island of Mindanao, on Tuesday, December 4.
Residents walk down a road covered in debris after the storm in New Bataan on December 5.
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