( CNN ) -- More countries pledged aid to Taiwan on Friday , days after Typhoon Morakot battered the island and left dozens of villages deluged with floodwaters , killing 116 people . This image from an ireporter emphasizes the damage inflicted by Typhoon Morakot . Officials from Hong Kong said they would recommend sending HK $ 50 million ( US $ 6.45 million ) in aid . The aid request needed to get final authorization . Once that happens Hong Kong will join a growing group of countries and territories that have rushed to help typhoon-battered Taiwan . More than 30 countries have offered money , helicopters , medication or other supplies . `` They have presented the goodwill to help , '' said Benjamin Chi , a government spokesman . Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou toured the Jiadong and Linbian townships in Pingtung County Thursday , then visited Kaohsiung County , where a wall of mud had cut off the village of Shiaolin . Watch why public anger 's building » . Meanwhile , nearly 1,700 people were rescued from areas devastated by the storm , and a government spokeswoman said she believed `` the situation is getting better . '' Janet Chang said 1,692 people were rescued Thursday , mostly from the two mountainous counties that bore the brunt of the storm -- Kaohsiung and Pingtung . However , a funeral director in coastal Kaohsiung County , where a makeshift morgue was set up , told CNN that about 200 bodies had arrived there -- many from neighboring villages . Relief workers cleaned and photographed the bodies , preparing them for identification by loved ones . Chang said that based on official figures , 45 people were injured in the storm and 59 remain missing . She could not say how many more people needed to be rescued . Watch a grandmother describe her escape » . Since the typhoon made landfall over the weekend , nearly 15,700 people have been rescued from villages hit by mudslides and floodwaters , according to official government figures . Most of the missing were in Kaohsiung County , the National Disaster Prevention and Protection Commission reported . Watch a makeshift morgue and funeral » . Torrential downpours , dense fog , rugged terrain and raging rivers have made rescues difficult . Washed out roads and bridges rendered ground rescue operations virtually impossible in the central and southern regions of the island . Rescuers were forced to search by helicopter , inflatable boats and zip-line mechanisms that suspended them over the muddy waters raging below . In some cases food drops have been conducted over isolated villages tucked amid the rugged terrain , as villagers sought higher ground to stay dry . The Central Weather Bureau in Taiwan said that over a one-day period after the typhoon hit , Pingtung County received a record 55 inches of rain ( 1,403 mm ) . Elsewhere on the island , rainfall amounts were as high as 83 inches ( 2,108 mm ) . Seattle , Washington , one of the wettest U.S. cities , has an average annual rainfall of 37 inches per year ( 940 mm ) . The storm primarily targeted southern Taiwan . Isolated scattered showers and thunderstorms were forecast for Taiwan overnight Thursday into Friday , mostly in the north , where the capital is located , said CNN International meteorologist Brandon Miller . `` As a whole , the weather actually is pretty good , '' he said . It was 90 degrees ( 31C ) late Thursday . Miller said Taipei had had `` significant rainfall '' of 5 or 6 inches ( 150 mm ) over the past two days . The Red Cross is helping the government dispense food , water and other necessities from a central command center , where helicopters pick up the supplies for their humanitarian missions , said organization spokesman Christian Li on Wednesday . Economic losses due to Morakot have been estimated at U.S. $ 274 million . After hitting Taiwan , Morakot roared on to mainland China on Sunday , killing at least six people and displacing 1.4 million , authorities said . CNN 's Pauline Chiou contributed to this report .
NEW : Death toll rises . NEW : US officials say they will recommending sending Hong Kong $ 50 M ( HK $ 6.45 M ) More than 30 countries offer money , helicopters , medication , other supplies Official : More than 30 people pulled from flooded villages .