The super typhoon Rai, the most powerful to hit the Philippines this year, caused at least 12 deaths in heavy rains and hurricane-force winds that uprooted trees, power lines and flooded towns, according to authorities.
More than 300,000 people left their homes and hotels as Cyclone Rai swept through the southern and central regions of the country, disrupting communications in some areas and tearing off the roofs of buildings.
The super typhoon, equivalent to a top-class hurricane, carried maximum sustained winds of 195 km per hour when it made landfall on the island of Siargao on Thursday, although it later dropped to 155 km per hour, the meteorological agency said.
Philippine authorities indicated that at least 12 people were killed by the cyclone, which was heading towards the tourist island of Palawan before entering the Sea of China South towards Vietnam.
“So far the death toll is about 12 in total in all affected regions,” said Ricardo Jalad, executive director of the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management.
Numerous flights were suspended and dozens of ports remain temporarily closed due to the warning of strong waves that could cause “deadly floods” in low-lying coastal areas.
“We are seeing people wandering the streets, many in shock,” explained ABS-CBN local correspondent Dennis Datu from the battered city of Surigao, on the island of Mindanao.
“All buildings are seriously damaged, including the provincial office of the disaster agency. It looks as if it had been hit by a bomb,” he added.
The Rai storm, dubbed “Odette” in the Philippines, arrives late in the typhoon season, which usually lasts between July and October.
A super typhoon is an extremely violent cyclone, equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane in the United States, and only about five occur each year in the world.
It is the most violent cyclone on record this year in the Philippines, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change and hit annually by an average of 20 storms and typhoons.
