Wednesday, November 27

Typhoon Rai kills more than 100 in Philippines


Pese al alto número de muertos, se espera que las cifras aumenten aún más a medida que las agencias de desastres verifiquen el alcance total.
Despite the high death toll, the numbers are expected to rise further as disaster agencies verify the full extent.

Photo: Dan Kitwood / AFP / Getty Images

La Opinión

For: The Opinion

Three days after Typhoon Rai passed through the Philippines , the worst that has hit the country this year, according to this Sunday’s official balance sheets, add up to at least 100 people fatalities in the Philippines .

As efforts to get food and water to the devastated islands intensify, more of 300,000 people left their homes and beach hotels after Rai razed part of the archipelago , leaving several areas without communications and electrical service, while in other places roofs were torn off and electricity poles tore down.

Arthur Yap, the governor of Bohol, a popular tourist destination, detailed that the fatalities on the island totaled 72. In the Dinagat Islands, there are other 10 deceased.

With this, the total number of reported deaths amounts to 108, according to official data, confirming that Rai is one of the deadliest typhoons to hit the Philippines in recent years.

Furthermore, the balance is likely to increase as government agencies begin to assess the totality of the disaster.

Typhoon Rai hit the Philippines on Thursday with winds of 195 km per hour

and there are currently thousands of police, military, coast guards and firefighters to assist in searches and rescue in the affected areas.

Also, through ships of Coast Guard and Navy, food, water and medical supplies are being transported; On the other hand, it was announced that they will put into action heavy machinery, backhoes, front loaders, to clear the roads intervened by electric poles and fallen trees.

On Saturday the cyclone moved away, advancing through the South China Sea and on Sunday it was off the coast of Vietnam moving north.

The National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management estimated that there are 108 locations without electricity and 22 damaged roads.

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