Death Toll From Philippines Typhoon Passes 30

At least 33 people were killed in the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, official tallies showed Saturday, with a charity reporting "alarming" destruction on islands that bore the brunt of the storm

Surigao City, Philippines, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Dec, 2021 ) :At least 33 people were killed in the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, official tallies showed Saturday, with a charity reporting "alarming" destruction on islands that bore the brunt of the storm.

More than 300,000 people fled their homes and beachfront resorts as Typhoon Rai ravaged the southern and central regions of the archipelago, knocking out communications and electricity in many areas, ripping off roofs and toppling concrete power poles.

Rai was a super typhoon when it smashed into the popular tourist island of Siargao on Thursday, packing maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometres per hour (120 miles per hour).

Aerial photos shared by the military showed widespread damage in the town of General Luna, where many surfers and holidaymakers had flocked ahead of Christmas, with buildings stripped of roofs and debris littering the ground.

"Everything was flying, it was as if it was the end of the world," Raphy Repdos, a tour operator visiting the island when the storm hit, told AFP.