Taiwan on Tuesday confirmed that 461 people were killed while 192 were missing after Typhoon Morakot struck two weeks ago causing the worst flooding in the island's history.

The latest figures included 318 confirmed deaths from the worst-hit southern village of Hsiaolin, where 106 others were still unaccounted for, the National Fire Agency said.

Previously the death toll from the typhoon stood at 376.

The toll was expected to rise, with the agency also listing around 60 bodies and/or body parts yet to be identified.

The typhoon lashed the island earlier this month, bringing a record three metres (118 inches) of rain, submerging houses and streets and destroying bridges.

President Ma Ying-jeou has said the scale of damage caused by Morakot was more severe than a 1959 typhoon that killed 667 people and left around 1,000 missing.

The deadliest natural disaster in the island's history was a 7.6-magnitude quake that claimed around 2,400 lives in September 1999.

Taiwan plans three-bln-dlr typhoon relief budget

Taiwan's parliament came out of recess Tuesday to discuss the cabinet's 100-billion-Taiwan-dollar (3.04 billion US) budget for reconstruction in the wake of Typhoon Morakot.

The session is expected to last three days and, once approved, the budget will pay for reconstruction and relief efforts over the next three years, the cabinet said in a statement.

According to the National Fire Agency Typhoon Morakot killed 376 people, with another 254 missing, and President Ma Ying-jeou has warned that the final death toll could exceed 500.

After being criticised for his government's slow response to the typhoon, Ma Tuesday continued touring the hard-hit areas of southern Taiwan.

More than 25,000 people fled their homes after Morakot struck on August 8, and 6,000 are still living in government and private temporary shelters.

Taiwan's Red Cross Society has said it would build up to 1,600 houses within two years for some of the thousands of people left homeless by Morakot.

Hampering reconstruction efforts, a suspected outbreak of swine flu was reported in a flooded area after four soldiers mobilised for clean-up operations were confirmed to have contracted the disease.

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