The death toll from a typhoon in the Philippines rose to 375: "Extremely desperate situation"
Hurricane Rai, the strongest to hit the country this year, has left homes, hospitals and schools "torn to shreds" and there is a shortage of water and food
News agencies
20/12/2021
Monday, 20 December 2021, 16:33 Updated: 16:50
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Trees that collapsed in the typhoon on the island of Syargao, Philippines, December 19, 2021 (Photo: Reuters)
The death toll from the typhoon that hit the Philippines rose today (Monday) to 375, while the residents who survived are begging for an urgent supply of drinking water and food.
The Philippine Red Cross reported "total carnage" in coastal areas hit hard by the powerful Typhoon Rai, the most powerful that hit the country this year, leaving homes, hospitals and schools "torn to shreds."
The storm tore roofs, uprooted trees, knocked down concrete power poles, smashed wooden houses, wiped out crops and flooded villages, and the damage it left raised comparisons to Typhoon Hyan in 2013.
"Our situation is extremely desperate," said Perry Asuncion, a peddler in the coastal town of Surigao that was destroyed in a storm.
According to him, the residents urgently need "drinking water and food".
National police said in addition to the 375 killed, another 56 defined residents were missing and about 500 others were injured in the disaster, the latest to hit the island nation in Southeast Asia.
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In the video: Typhoon in the Philippines (Photo: Reuters)
More than 380,000 people fled their homes and coastal sites when Hurricane Rai, known as "Odette" by residents, hit the country on Thursday.
One of the hardest hit islands is Bohol - known for its beaches, "chocolate hills" and monkeys living in its territory.
The governor announced that at least 94 people had died on the island, when a state of disaster was declared in the coastal town of Obai after wooden houses and many fishing boats were destroyed.
A senior official at the National Disaster Agency said he did not expect so many deaths.
"I seem to have been wrong as it now appears from the reports," said Cassiano Monilla, the agency's deputy chief operating officer.
The storm hit the Philippines late in the typhoon season: Most cyclones develop between July and October, and scientists have long warned that typhoons are becoming more powerful and intensifying faster due to global warming.
Residents charge their devices outside a government building following a power outage caused by a typhoon in Cebu, Philippines, on December 18, 2021 (Photo: Reuters)
Destruction of Typhoon on Syargao Island, Philippines, December 19, 2021 (Photo: Reuters)
The Philippines - one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change - experiences an average of 20 storms a year, and they usually wipe out crops, homes and infrastructure in poor areas.
In 2013, Typhoon Heian, the strongest hurricane to ever hit the land, left more than 7,300 dead or missing.
The Philippines has a disaster management system that provides early warnings of storms approaching the mainland, and it enables the relocation of communities living in coastal areas to evacuation centers.
However, the latest storm has hit the tourism sector hard, which has yet to recover from the Corona restrictions on the number of tourists.
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