US President Barack Obama has assured that the American government will continue to extend cooperation and assistance to the Philippines as the country slowly recovers from the devastation brought by recent killer typhoons.

Along with the guarantee for more aid, Obama also sent his condolence s t o those who perished during the onslaught of Tropical Storm “Ondoy” and Typhoon “Pepeng.”

“On behalf of the American people, I want to express my deep condolences for the loss of life and devastation caused by recent storms in the Philippines, particularly Tropical Storm Ketsana (international codename of Ondoy),” Obama said in a statement dated October 6 and obtained by Manila Bulletin through an e-mail sent from Washington, D.C.

“Michelle and I feel great sorrow over the hundreds of people who have died from the storms and resulting flooding and the hundreds of thousands more who have been displaced,” Obama further said.

Obama said that as part of the relief effort, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has so far allocated $1.8 million.

“In the spirit of our long history of friendship and cooperation with the Philippines, the United States has been assisting the people of the Philippines. Our military forces and civilian agencies have supported local Philippine efforts by distributing relief supplies and helped in rescuing victims from inundated areas of Manila,” Obama said.

Some 4,000 homes were destroyed by the combined blow from Pepeng over the weekend and Ondoy on September 26.

More than 200 people have so far been reported dead.

Furthermore, an estimated 180,212 metric tons of palay, valued at P3.1 billion, were lost owing to floods and heavy rains that submerged 124,238 hectares of rice-growing areas.