Death toll from Super Typhoon Rai soars to 375 in Philippines
By
Renee Duff, AccuWeather senior meteorologist &
Robert Richards, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Dec 17, 2021 11:51 AM EST
|
Updated Dec 22, 2021 5:40 AM EST
Typhoon Rai damaged homes and forced evacuations as it swept through the Philippines on Dec. 16 and 17, bringing with it powerful winds and torrential rain.
Horrors continued to emerge over the weekend as the scope of the utter destruction left behind by Super Typhoon Rai in the Philippines came clearly into view. The fierce storm, described as "one of the most powerful typhoons to ever hit the southern Philippines" by the chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, has left hundreds of people dead and has completely cut off some communities from the outside world.
As of Wednesday evening, the death toll in the Philippines was at least 375 people, with another 56 people missing and over 500 injured, according to The Washington Post.
Government officials are having difficultly assessing the full scope of the damage due to the extensive loss of telecommunications in the affected provinces, Al Jazeera reported. Flooded roadways and extensive debris are adding more challenges to rescuers attempting to reach the hardest-hit areas.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) called Rai "a terrible surprise for the festive season" as it severely flooded cities and towns, tore homes and businesses to shreds and littered the ground with downed power lines, snapped trees and other debris.
This natural-color image of Typhoon Rai was acquired in the early afternoon on Dec. 16, 2021, by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi-NPP satellite. (NASA Earth Observatory)
NASA Earth Observatory
"The full picture is only just starting to emerge, but it is clear there is widespread devastation. It is heartbreaking to see homes, Red Cross offices and even a hospital ripped apart. We hold grave fears for people in areas including Siargao and other islands that still have no communication and contact with the outside world," Alberto Bocanegra, IFRC Head of the Philippine Country Office, said in a statement.
The Philippine Coast Guard released aerial pictures on Friday of homes that were leveled and left unrecognizable by the fury of Rai.
Siargao Island sustained significant damage as the typhoon first roared ashore Thursday afternoon, local time, with the equivalent strength of a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (maximum sustained winds of at least 156 mph or 250 km/h) in the Atlantic or East Pacific basins. In total, Rai made eight landfalls as it weaved through the various islands that make up the south-central Philippines, according to the country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The islands of Mindanao and Nonoc also sustained significant devastation.
Emergency response teams have been working around the clock to rescue those still trapped in floodwaters, prevent additional loss of life and provide first aid, food and clean water. Many of the deaths have been a result of people being struck by fallen trees, collapsed walls and other debris, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
In the hard-hit city of Surigao, people were described as looking "shell-shocked" as they walked through the streets, a correspondent with ABS-CBN, a Philippine media company, told AFP.
Areas farther to the west were not spared Rai's fury as the storm maintained its super typhoon status through the south-central Philippines.
"I have never experienced such ferocity of the wind in my life, and we were not even directly hit,” Iloilo City's Mayor Jerry Trenas told The AP.
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Video emerged at the height of the storm that showed harrowing rescues being performed by the Philippine Coast Guard. Two members of the coast guard rescued a 1-month-old baby in chest-deep floodwaters in Cagayan de Oro. The men were seen pushing along what appeared to be a barrel with the baby in it through the swift-moving water. Another video showed rescuers carrying a person through the rushing water and safely onto a vehicle.
In Cebu City, winds howled through the streets as people attempted to seek shelter from the storm's ferocity wherever they could.
More than 300,000 people evacuated their homes and sought shelter ahead of the typhoon, according to AFP.
COVID-19 vaccinations of millions of people were delayed even prior to the typhoon's arrival, as the country's second three-day vaccination drive was cut from 17 regions to six due to the expected impacts.
AccuWeather's team of meteorologists had been monitoring the area of the West Pacific in which Rai formed more than a week ahead of time. Rai became a tropical storm Monday, Dec. 13, over the southern Philippine Sea, before strengthening to a typhoon by midweek and rapidly intensifying into a super typhoon Thursday as it closed in on the Philippines.
The fact that Rai was still in the process of strengthening at the time of landfall added even more fury to the storm's wind, rain and storm surge.
Rai, which lost super typhoon status on Friday, emerged into the South China Sea over the weekend.
The center of Rai remained just off the coast of south-central Vietnam on Sunday and Sunday night. The storm brought heavy rain and high winds to portions of the Vietnamese coast as it roared offshore.
As of Wednesday evening, Rai continued the process of dissipating over the northern South China Sea and was no longer considered a significant threat to land. However, leftover moisture from the former super typhoon can lead to localized heavy rainfall across portions of the southern China coast and Taiwan midweek.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Hurricane
Death toll from Super Typhoon Rai soars to 375 in Philippines
By Renee Duff, AccuWeather senior meteorologist & Robert Richards, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Dec 17, 2021 11:51 AM EST | Updated Dec 22, 2021 5:40 AM EST
Typhoon Rai damaged homes and forced evacuations as it swept through the Philippines on Dec. 16 and 17, bringing with it powerful winds and torrential rain.
Horrors continued to emerge over the weekend as the scope of the utter destruction left behind by Super Typhoon Rai in the Philippines came clearly into view. The fierce storm, described as "one of the most powerful typhoons to ever hit the southern Philippines" by the chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, has left hundreds of people dead and has completely cut off some communities from the outside world.
As of Wednesday evening, the death toll in the Philippines was at least 375 people, with another 56 people missing and over 500 injured, according to The Washington Post.
Government officials are having difficultly assessing the full scope of the damage due to the extensive loss of telecommunications in the affected provinces, Al Jazeera reported. Flooded roadways and extensive debris are adding more challenges to rescuers attempting to reach the hardest-hit areas.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) called Rai "a terrible surprise for the festive season" as it severely flooded cities and towns, tore homes and businesses to shreds and littered the ground with downed power lines, snapped trees and other debris.
This natural-color image of Typhoon Rai was acquired in the early afternoon on Dec. 16, 2021, by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi-NPP satellite. (NASA Earth Observatory)
"The full picture is only just starting to emerge, but it is clear there is widespread devastation. It is heartbreaking to see homes, Red Cross offices and even a hospital ripped apart. We hold grave fears for people in areas including Siargao and other islands that still have no communication and contact with the outside world," Alberto Bocanegra, IFRC Head of the Philippine Country Office, said in a statement.
The Philippine Coast Guard released aerial pictures on Friday of homes that were leveled and left unrecognizable by the fury of Rai.
Siargao Island sustained significant damage as the typhoon first roared ashore Thursday afternoon, local time, with the equivalent strength of a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (maximum sustained winds of at least 156 mph or 250 km/h) in the Atlantic or East Pacific basins. In total, Rai made eight landfalls as it weaved through the various islands that make up the south-central Philippines, according to the country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The islands of Mindanao and Nonoc also sustained significant devastation.
Emergency response teams have been working around the clock to rescue those still trapped in floodwaters, prevent additional loss of life and provide first aid, food and clean water. Many of the deaths have been a result of people being struck by fallen trees, collapsed walls and other debris, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
In the hard-hit city of Surigao, people were described as looking "shell-shocked" as they walked through the streets, a correspondent with ABS-CBN, a Philippine media company, told AFP.
Areas farther to the west were not spared Rai's fury as the storm maintained its super typhoon status through the south-central Philippines.
"I have never experienced such ferocity of the wind in my life, and we were not even directly hit,” Iloilo City's Mayor Jerry Trenas told The AP.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Video emerged at the height of the storm that showed harrowing rescues being performed by the Philippine Coast Guard. Two members of the coast guard rescued a 1-month-old baby in chest-deep floodwaters in Cagayan de Oro. The men were seen pushing along what appeared to be a barrel with the baby in it through the swift-moving water. Another video showed rescuers carrying a person through the rushing water and safely onto a vehicle.
In Cebu City, winds howled through the streets as people attempted to seek shelter from the storm's ferocity wherever they could.
More than 300,000 people evacuated their homes and sought shelter ahead of the typhoon, according to AFP.
COVID-19 vaccinations of millions of people were delayed even prior to the typhoon's arrival, as the country's second three-day vaccination drive was cut from 17 regions to six due to the expected impacts.
AccuWeather's team of meteorologists had been monitoring the area of the West Pacific in which Rai formed more than a week ahead of time. Rai became a tropical storm Monday, Dec. 13, over the southern Philippine Sea, before strengthening to a typhoon by midweek and rapidly intensifying into a super typhoon Thursday as it closed in on the Philippines.
The fact that Rai was still in the process of strengthening at the time of landfall added even more fury to the storm's wind, rain and storm surge.
Rai, which lost super typhoon status on Friday, emerged into the South China Sea over the weekend.
The center of Rai remained just off the coast of south-central Vietnam on Sunday and Sunday night. The storm brought heavy rain and high winds to portions of the Vietnamese coast as it roared offshore.
As of Wednesday evening, Rai continued the process of dissipating over the northern South China Sea and was no longer considered a significant threat to land. However, leftover moisture from the former super typhoon can lead to localized heavy rainfall across portions of the southern China coast and Taiwan midweek.
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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