Typhoon Rai kills at least 208 in Philippines: police
Bangkok, Dec 20 (EFE).- At least 208 people have died and 52 remained missing in the Philippines due to typhoon Rai, which hit the central region of the archipelago Thursday and Saturday, the Philippine police reported Monday.
According to the official report, the most affected province is Central Visayas with 129 deaths, followed by the Caraga region with 41 deaths, Western Visayas with 24, North Mindanao with seven, Eastern Visayas with six and one in Zamboanga.
The typhoon, which made landfall Thursday with winds of up to 240 kmph, crossed from east to west through some nine islands, where it caused significant damage to homes and infrastructure, in addition to leaving at least 239 injured, according to the GMA channel.
Non-profit group Red Cross spoke Sunday about the devastation of many areas of the country, where more than 442,400 people have been displaced by the typhoon according to the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management.
“Red Cross teams are reporting complete devastation in coastal areas … Homes, hospitals, schools and community buildings have been destroyed,” Red Cross Philippine President Richard Gordon said in a statement.
The police’s figure shows a large jump compared to data confirmed by the council, which in its last update Monday morning counted 58 dead and 18 missing, in addition to 199 injured.
The council said Rai caused damage to 3,800 homes, 41 roads and 4 bridges, and left 227 towns without electricity.
The typhoon is the 15th to hit the Philippines this year and has passed through some nine islands where it has ripped off roofs and damaged numerous buildings.
The typhoon, which made landfall Thursday with winds of up to 240 kilometers per hour, left the Philippines on Saturday after causing flooding and landslides, cutting off communications in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
Many provinces, including Cebu, Bohol and Guimaras, have been declared disaster areas due to the damage suffered.
An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines each year, the most destructive was Super Typhoon Haiyan, the largest in recent Philippine history, which struck the islands of Samar and Leyte in November 2013, killing some 7,000 people and leaving 200,000 families homeless.
The Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to the climate crisis due to natural disasters and, in addition, sits on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” an area that suffers 90 percent of the world’s seismic and volcanic activity. EFE
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