Typhoon Rai: dozens more deaths confirmed as relief efforts ramp up in Philippines
The official death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year has risen to 89 people, as efforts to deliver water and food to devastated islands ramped up.
More than 300,000 people fled their homes and beachfront resorts as Typhoon Rai ravaged the southern and central regions of the archipelago.
The storm knocked out communications and electricity in many areas, ripped off roofs, toppled concrete power poles and flooded villages.
Arthur Yap, governor of the popular tourist destination Bohol, said on his official Facebook page that mayors on the devastated island had so far reported 63 deaths in their towns.
That took the overall number of reported deaths to 89, according to the latest official figures, Agence FrancePresse reported.
But the toll was likely to rise as disaster agencies assessed the full extent of the death and destruction from the storm across the vast archipelago.
Yap said a number of people were still missing on the island and 13 were injured after the storm smashed into the country Thursday as a super typhoon packing wind speeds of 195 km/ h (120 mph).
“Communications are still down. Only 21 mayors out of 48 have reached out to us,” Yap said, raising fears the of more fatalities in the flood-hit province where some residents were rescued from their rooftops.
Floodwaters rose rapidly in Bohol’s riverside town of Loboc, where residents were trapped on their roofs and trees. They were rescued by the coast guard the following day.
President Rodrigo Duterte flew to the region Saturday and promised 2bn pesos ($40m) in new aid. Aides said the president will visit Bohol on Sunday.
Thousands of military, police, coast guard and fire personnel are being deployed to assist in search and rescue efforts in the worst-affected areas of the vast archipelago.
Heavy machinery - like backhoes and front-end loaders - are also being sent to help clear roads blocked by fallen power poles and trees.
Charities and emergency services have appealed for donations.
A Philippine navy ship carrying goods and other relief would depart for Bohol on Monday, Yap said, after he earlier declared a state of calamity on the island.
An aerial survey of damage to the island’s north made it “very clear that our people have suffered greatly in terms of destroyed homes and agricultural losses,” he said.
Thousands of boxes of water had been delivered after power cuts across the island disrupted water refilling stations, Yap added.
There has also been widespread destruction on Siargao, Dinagat and Mindanao islands, which bore the brunt of Rai when it slammed into the Philippines.
Aerial photos shared by the military showed severe damage in the Siargao town of General Luna, where many surfers and holidaymakers had flocked ahead of Christmas, with buildings stripped of roofs and debris littering the ground.
Dinagat governor Arlene Bag-ao said Saturday the damage to the island’s landscape was “reminiscent if not worse” than that caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.
Haiyan, called Yolanda in the Philippines, was the deadliest cyclone on record in the country, leaving more than 7,300 people dead or missing.
Rai hit the Philippines late in the typhoon season - most cyclones typically develop between July and October.
Scientists have long warned that typhoons are becoming more powerful and strengthening more rapidly as the world becomes warmer because of human-driven climate change.
About 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines each year. The archipelago is located in the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire” region, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.