Philippine military ordered to deliver typhoon aid as toll crosses 200

[December 20, 2021]  By Karen Lema and Enrico Dela Cruz

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines ordered its military on Monday to send airplanes and naval vessels to carry aid to areas devastated by a powerful typhoon that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and killed more than 200.

Many central and southern regions are cut off after Typhoon Rai, the strongest to hit the archipelago this year, downed power and communication links, complicating rescue and relief efforts.

"We are still assessing the damage, but it is huge," Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters, citing early reports. "The first thing we are doing is address the food and water (supplies) and medical care of the injured."

Lorenzana told the armed forces to deliver relief goods using all available assets, and send in more troops if necessary, he added.

Police said the death toll from Rai has risen to 211, making it one of the deadliest typhoons to have struck the Southeast Asian nation. More than 200 have been injured, and 52 people were missing.

The police figure far outstripped the 58 deaths recorded by the national disaster agency, which said it was still checking reports from affected areas.

More than half the deaths reported by police were in the central region of Visayas, home to dive spots in Bohol province, among some of the most popular tourist destinations.

Provincial governor Arthur Yap told broadcaster CNN Philippines he feared the death toll could rise further, as a lack of mobile telephone links made it hard to gather information.

Aviation personnel assist in unloading packs of relief goods for victims of typhoon Rai, in Surigao del Norte province, Philippines, December 18, 2021. Philippine Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERS

Rai, which made landfall as a category 5 typhoon on Thursday, revived memories of the devastation brought in 2013 by Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded, which killed 6,300 people in the Philippines.

Rai, which displaced nearly 490,000 people in the Philippines before moving toward the South China Sea over the weekend.

It left a trail of destruction in the provinces of Cebu, Leyte, and Surigao del Norte, including Siargao, which is popular with surfers, and the Dinagat Islands.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who visited typhoon-stricken areas over the weekend, promised funds of about 2 billion pesos ($40 million) to help in recovery efforts.

(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz and Karen Lema; Editing by Ed Davies and Clarence Fernandez)

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