The Philippine Red Cross has reported a “complete massacre” in the coastal areas.
Manila:
The death toll from the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year has risen to 208, the national police said on Monday, making it one of the deadliest to hit the country in recent years.
Police data showed that at least 239 people were injured and 52 missing after Typhoon Rai wreaked havoc in the southern and central regions of the archipelago.
More than 300,000 people fled their homes and beachside resorts after Rai slammed into the country as a super typhoon on Thursday.
The Philippine Red Cross has reported a “complete massacre” in the coastal areas.
“Houses, hospitals, schools and community buildings have been torn to pieces,” Red Cross President Richard Gordon said earlier.
Storms tore down roofs, uprooted trees, downed concrete electric poles, tore down wooden houses and flooded villages – a comparison with Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.
Haiyan, called Yolanda in the Philippines, was the deadliest cyclone on record in the country, killing or missing more than 7,300 people.
Provincial governor Arthur Yap said on his official Facebook page that this time one of the hardest-hit islands was Bohol – known for its beaches, “chocolate hills” and tiny tarsier primates – where at least 74 people died. Huh.
There was also widespread destruction on the islands of Siargao, Dinagat and Mindanao, which bore the brunt of the storm when it was packing wind speeds of up to 195 kilometers (120 miles) per hour into the country.
Provincial information officer Jeffrey Crisostomo told AFP on Sunday that at least 10 people had died in the Dinagat Islands.
SOS was pictured on a street in General Luna, the popular tourist town of Siargao Island, where surfers and holidaymakers flocked before Christmas as people struggled to find water and food.
There is no communication in the affected areas, hampering the efforts of disaster agencies to assess the full extent of the storm’s damage.
Electricity has also come to a standstill, affecting water filling stations and ATMs.
Thousands of military, police, Coast Guard and firefighters have been deployed to assist with the search and rescue efforts.
Coast Guard and naval ships carrying food, water and medical supplies have been dispatched, while heavy machinery – such as backhoes and front-end loaders – has been dispatched to help clear roads blocked by power poles and trees .
Rai struck the Philippines late in hurricane season – most cyclones typically develop between July and October.
Scientists have long warned that typhoons are becoming more powerful and more rapidly stronger as the world warms due to human-driven climate change.
The Philippines – one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change – is hit by an average of 20 hurricanes and typhoons each year, which usually wipe out crops, homes and infrastructure in already poor regions.
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