The death toll from the Philippines’ biggest storm this year has grown to 18, with the disaster service warning of “serious devastation” in the hardest-hit areas on Saturday.
Typhoon Rai wreaked havoc on the country’s southern and central regions, knocking out communications and toppling concrete power poles. More than 300,000 people were forced to flee their homes and beachside resorts.
When Rai slammed into the renowned tourist island of Siargao on Thursday, it was a super typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometres per hour (120 miles per hour).
As Hurricane barreled over the archipelago, its wind speeds slowed to 150 kph, ripping roofs off houses, uprooting trees, and showering streets with debris.
According to Mark Timbal, spokesman for the national disaster agency, more than 18,000 military, police, coast guard, and fire personnel will join search and rescue efforts in the worst-affected areas.
“There has been major damage” in Surigao and Siargao, according to Timbal, referring to the typhoon’s worst-hit areas.
“This is without a doubt one of the most violent storms to hit the Philippines in December in the last decade,” Alberto Bocanegra, the Philippines’ head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told AFP.
On social media, the Philippine Coast Guard posted photographs of widespread wreckage in Surigao City, Mindanao.
Bocanegra cautioned that the power outage will have an impact on the water supply, creating hygiene and illness issues.
Rai emerged over the South China Sea on Saturday after hammering Palawan Island and was heading towards Vietnam, according to the state weather forecaster.
