Typhoon Rai Kills 375 in the Philippines

Typhoon Rai in the Philippines has claimed 375 lives. The police announced this on Monday. In addition, another 56 were missing, and 500 people were injured. That makes it one of the deadliest natural disasters in the country in recent years.

 

The severe storm made landfall on Thursday and left a trail of destruction in the southern and central regions of the archipelago.

At least 277 cities are without power, roofs have been pulled from houses, and flooded villages. Thousands of soldiers, police officers and firefighters have been dispatched. Navy ships have set out to deliver food, water and medical supplies.

Rai reached the Philippines as a super typhoon with wind speeds of up to 195 kilometres per hour and was accompanied by a large amount of rain. Nearly 500,000 people had to leave their homes because of the bad weather.

However, the typhoon had weakened on Saturday and moved towards Vietnam via the western island of Palawan.