A powerful storm killed at least 375 people in the Philippines when it struck the country on Thursday, BBC News reported.
The super typhoon, named Rai, injured at least 500 people while 56 remain missing, according to police, the BBC reported Monday. Approximately 400,000 people were forced to run when the storm hit the southeast islands on which they resided.
Rai had winds of about 120 mph and left what rescue crews described as “complete carnage” behind, the BBC reported.
“There are some areas that look like it has been bombed worse than World War Two,” the Chair of the Philippines Red Cross, Richard Gordon, told the outlet. “Homes, hospitals, school and community buildings have been ripped to shreds.”
An aerial shot showing destroyed houses and fallen coconut trees in Cebu province on December 20, 2021, days after super Typhoon Rai devastated the province. (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)
“Many areas have no power, no communications, very little water,” he added. Communication in a number of areas has been cut off, making it difficult to get an accurate count of the deceased, the BBC reported. (RELATED: ‘Special Angel’: 9-Year-Old Girl Found Dead In Field Dozens Of Yards Away After Tornado Ripped Through Home)
Fear of landslides and flooding resulting in more loss of life is widespread and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has started an emergency appeal in the hopes of getting $22 million to fund relief efforts that will last long-term, the BBC reported.
“The fields and boats of our farmers and fisherfolk have been decimated,” Arlene Bag-ao, the governor of the Dinagat Islands, told the Rappler.
“We have lost our homes. Walls and roofs were torn and blown off,” she said. “We have a dwindling supply of food and water. Electricity and telecommunications are down. This is why we urgently and humbly ask for everyone’s help.”
It is the most powerful storm to strike the Philippines in 2021 and comes late in the typhoon season, in which the majority of storms occur between July and October, the BBC reported. About 20 storms hit the country per year.
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