After Typhoon Rai, the Philippines finds miles of destruction and the smell of death
MANILA, Philippines — “The trees snapped like matchsticks.”
Ed Boysillo, 54, a municipal worker in Ubay, in the central Philippine province of Bohol, was describing the fearsome power of Super Typhoon Rai. The storm made its first landfall Dec. 16, bringing torrential rains and packing winds up to 168 mph, comparable to a Category 5 hurricane.
It blew away buildings, swelled rivers to overflow and forced more than 7 million people to flee their homes. It cut off power, water and communications, and damaged critical infrastructure.
As of Monday morning, the storm had killed 389 people, injured 1,146 others and left 65 missing, official figures show. More than half a million people were still in evacuation centers or staying with friends and relatives.
The smell of death hung in the air in Bohol.
Rai, the international name for the storm (the local name is Odette), was the 15th typhoon to hit the country this year. The storm made eight more landfalls in multiple regions before veering away.
In Bohol, where many of the
storm deaths were recorded, overturned vehicles were piled up on the side of the highway and in fields Monday. Trees and debris littered the terrain. Many of the deaths had occurred in coastal areas inundated by storm surges or where people had been crushed by houses that crumbled in the wind. Everywhere, people could be seen scouring the ruins of homes to salvage what was left of their old lives.
Officials warned that residents in remote areas were running out of food. Countries such as the United States, Canada, China and South Korea have pledged aid. A U.N. agency called for $107.2 million “to support the government in responding to the most urgent humanitarian needs for the next six months.”
Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap has sought donations to purchase food and other relief items. An early appeal brought in generators, but fuel is now a coveted commodity.
Cleanup operations have been slow, although the Philippine military had deployed engineering crews to help rebuild. Electricity and telecommunications had yet to be restored in Bohol and in many other areas.
In Siargao, a surfing destination on the northeastern tip of Mindanao Island, east of Bohol, no structure was left standing or spared damage.