Typhoon Rai has left at least 31 dead and more than 328,000 displaced in the Philippines

Typhoon Rai, which arrived in the Philippines on Thursday and left the country on Saturday, has left at least 31 dead and more than 328,000 displaced in the central area of ​​the archipelago, the disaster agency reported on Saturday, December 18.

In its latest report, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) noted that of the displaced only 2,283 are in evacuation centers, while there are 193 towns without electricity and 22 damaged roads.

Damage, flooding and landslides caused by the typhoon have also cut telecommunications in 222 towns, while 22 roads are affected.

The onslaught of the typhoon, known as Odette in the country and the 15th to hit the Philippines this year, has passed through some nine islands where it has ripped off roofs and damaged numerous buildings.

The typhoon, which made landfall on Thursday with winds of up to 240 kilometers per hour, dropped in intensity this Saturday with winds of up to 185 km / h and left the Philippines for the South China Sea, according to the PAGASA meteorological agency.

Road closures and flooding are making it difficult for rescue teams to work on islands like Siargao, which has been badly damaged by the floods.

“Around 90% of the population of 180,000 people have been affected,” said today the deputy for Surigao del Norte, Francisco José Matugas, according to the GMA channel.

“Everything is devastated. As far as I can see, although in a limited way, I do not see any intact buildings. The cement buildings had no roof or were half demolished, ”said Matugas.

The deputy added that 80% of municipal buildings are seriously damaged, although the hospital has only slight damages, and estimated the damage from the typhoon in Siargao at about 20,000 million pesos (about 400 million dollars or 356 million euros) .

Many provinces, including Cebu, Bohol and Guimaras, have been declared disaster areas due to the damage suffered.

In Negros Oriental province, an ambulance was swept away today by a flood with two patients aged 33 and 76 who were found dead when the vehicle was later found.

The driver and a family member were able to save themselves by getting out of the ambulance and holding on to the roof, according to the newspaper “Inquirer.”

Philippine president seeks funds

On Friday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he was looking for ways to seek funding to deal with the devastation left by the typhoon, as he warned that state coffers were almost empty due to expenses from the covid-19 pandemic. .

“I am not so concerned about the damage to the structures, infrastructure of the Government. My real fear is that many people may have died, “said the president.

However, the president of the left-wing Bayan Muna party, Neri Colmenares, said that a country where typhoons are so common should have funds reserved for these types of natural disasters even in the midst of the pandemic.

In addition, he recalled that the Philippines must have money after having been the country that has borrowed the most from the World Bank, about 3.07 billion dollars, above other countries such as India (2.65 billion dollars), Indonesia (2.2 billion dollars) and Morocco (1.8 billion dollars).

An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines each year, the most destructive was Super Typhoon Haiyan, the largest in recent Philippine history, which struck the islands of Samar and Leyte in November 2013, killing some 7,000 people and leaving 200,000 families behind. homeless.

The Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to the climate crisis due to natural disasters and, in addition, it sits on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”, an area that accumulates around 90% of the seismic and volcanic activity on the planet . (I)