It is the strongest typhoon this year in the country. At least 23 people were killed by Typhoon Rai in the Philippines, authorities reported on Saturday (December 18th).
More than 300,000 people have had to flee their homes since Thursday due to the typhoon that devastated the south and center of the country, according to the National Agency for Natural Disasters of the Philippines.
Rai was described as a “super-typhoon” when it made landfall Thursday, on the tourist island of Siargao, accompanied by winds of 195km / h. By Friday, the wind speed had dropped to 155km / h, according to the Philippine Meteorological Agency.
Aerial photos shared by the military showed extensive damage in the town of General Luna, where many surfers and vacationers had flocked before Christmas, with buildings without roofs and debris littering the ground.
The Philippine Coast Guard shared photos on social media showing widespread destruction around Surigao, with roofs ripped from buildings and wooden structures shattered.
Devastation. #OdettePH pic.twitter.com/gcQBdLuZX1
– SINJIN TheLibotero Pineda (@thesinjinpineda) December 16, 2021
More than 18,000 military, police, coast guard and firefighters will join search and rescue efforts in the hardest hit areas, said the spokesperson for the national disaster agency.
Rai is a particularly late typhoon in the season. Most tropical cyclones in the Pacific Ocean form between July and October. Scientists have long warned that typhoons are getting stronger and stronger as man-made global warming accelerates.
The Philippines, considered one of the countries most vulnerable to global warming, is struck each year by around 20 typhoons which often wreak havoc on homes, crops and infrastructure in already very poor regions.