Death toll from typhoon nears 150 in Philippines

MANILA－The governor of an island province in the central Philippines said on Sunday that at least 72 people died in the devastation wrought by Typhoon Rai in more than half the towns that managed to contact him, bringing the death toll in the strongest typhoon to batter the country this year to at least 146, according to The Associated Press.

Arthur Yap, governor of Bohol Province, said 10 others were missing and 13 injured, and suggested the number of deaths may still greatly increase with only 33 out of 48 mayors able to report back to him due to downed communications. Officials were trying to confirm many deaths caused by landslides and extensive flooding elsewhere.

In statements posted on Facebook, Yap ordered mayors in his province of more than 1.2 million people to invoke their emergency powers to secure food packs for many people along with drinking water, which he said was an urgent problem since water stations were out of action because of power cuts.

The initial inspection did not cover four towns, he said, where the typhoon blew in as it rampaged through central island provinces on Thursday and on Friday. About 780,000 people were affected, the government said.

At least 64 other typhoon deaths were reported by the disaster-response agency and the national police. Officials on Dinagat Islands, one of the southeastern provinces first pounded by the typhoon, separately reported 10 deaths just from a few towns, bringing the overall number of deaths to 146.

Xinhua News Agency reported that Rai had killed at least 144, citing local officials, and Agence France-Presse reported the death toll at 108.

The number of deaths is likely to rise as data gathering from the field continues.

President Rodrigo Duterte flew to the region on Saturday and promised 2 billion pesos ($40 million) in new aid. He was expected to visit Bohol on Sunday, aides said.

At its strongest, the typhoon packed sustained winds of 195 kilometers an hour and gusts of up to 270 km/h, one of the most powerful in recent years to hit the disaster-prone archipelago.

Agencies Via Xinhua