Death toll from Typhoon Rai hits 142 in the Philippines

dpa Manila The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year has risen to 142, officials said on Sunday, as emergency teams reache...

dpaManilaThe death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year has risen to 142, officials said on Sunday, as emergency teams reached devastated areas, bringing food, water and other supplies.More than 480,000 people were displaced by Typhoon Rai, which flattened houses, damaged buildings and knocked out power and communication lines in the country’s central and southern provinces, the national disaster agency said.Relief goods were flown in to the affected areas, according to local airlines. Volunteer doctors, rescue workers and other emergency teams were also flown in.The central province of Bohol reported the highest death toll, at 72, according to its governor Arthur Yap. The number was based on reports from 42 out of 48 towns, he said.“It is very clear that our people have suffered greatly in terms of destroyed homes and agricultural losses,” he noted in a Facebook post.Yap called for donations of portable generators to distribute among the towns to power water refilling stations, noting, “We cannot survive the next two to three weeks by just waiting for transmission lines to be repaired.” “Supplying the people drinking water is critical and relying on water bottles distribution is merely a stopgap measure which we will not be able to sustain for long,” he added.The island province of Dinagat has recorded 10 fatalities, with five missing, according to Jeffrey Crisostomo, provincial chief information officer.“Our province survived, but the destruction is everywhere,” he told DZBB radio station. “Around 90 per cent to 95 per cent of the province is damaged to totally wrecked.” Crisostomo said even the provincial capital building was damaged by Rai’s fierce winds.