Death toll from typhoon in Philippines rises to 375
It was the strongest typhoon to batter the Philippines this year with sustained winds of 195kmph before it blew out on Friday
SURIGAO CITY, PHILIPPINES: The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year surged to 375 on Monday, as desperate survivors pleaded for urgent supplies of drinking water and food.
The Philippine Red Cross reported “complete carnage” in coastal areas after Super Typhoon Rai left homes, hospitals and schools “ripped to shreds”.
The storm tore off roofs, uprooted trees, toppled concrete power poles, smashed wooden houses to pieces, wiped out crops and flooded villages sparking comparisons to the damage caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, which left over 7,300 people dead or missing.
“Our situation is so desperate,” said Ferry Asuncion, a street vendor in the hard-hit seaside city of Surigao, which was devastated by the storm. Residents urgently needed “drinking water and food”, he said.
At least 375 people were killed and 56 are missing in the latest disaster to hit the archipelago, with 500 more injured, the national police said. More than 380,000 people fled their homes and beachfront resorts as Rai slammed into the country on Thursday.
One of the hardest-hit islands was Bohol - known for its beaches, “Chocolate Hills” and tiny tarsier primates - where at least 94 people have died, provincial Governor Arthur Yap said on Facebook.
In Bohol’s coastal town of Ubay, a state of calamity has been declared, with many wooden houses flattened and fishing boats destroyed.
A senior official at the national disaster agency said he had not expected as many deaths. “I was proven wrong as it
appears now coming from the reports,” said Casiano Monilla, deputy administrator for operations.
“SOS” has been painted on a road in the tourist town of General Luna on Siargao Island,
where surfers and holidaymakers had flocked ahead of Christmas, as people struggled to find water and food.
“There’s no water anymore, there’s a water shortage, on day one there was already looting in our neighbourhood,” Siargao resort owner Marja O’Donnell told CNN Philippines.
There has also been widespread destruction on Dinagat and Mindanao islands, which along with Siargao bore the brunt of the storm when it hit, packing wind speeds of 195kmph and blew out to the South China Sea on Friday. At least 14 people died on the Dinagat Islands, provincial information officer Jeffrey Crisostomo told broadcaster ABS-CBN, saying the area had been “levelled to the ground”.
But letters written by Dinagat residents, and posted to Facebook, expressed hope. “We are happy to be alive,” Aimee Antonio-Jimeno wrote to her sister.
“Our houses are roofless but we are not hopeless!”
With electricity knocked out in many areas, there is no signal or internet, hampering efforts to assess the storm’s damage.
Thousands of military, police, coast guard and fire personnel were deployed along with food, water and medical supplies, while heavy machinery - including backhoes and front-end loaders - were sent to clear roads.