31 dead after devastating typhoon in the Philippines, 18,000 rescuers deployed

Typhoon Rai has killed at least 31 people in the Philippines. Seven people are still missing. The Philippine authorities are sending more than 18,000 rescue workers to areas hit hard by Typhoon Rai.

The severe storm made landfall on Thursday and left a trail of destruction.

Rai reached the Philippines like a super typhoon with winds of up to 195 kilometers per hour. The storm was accompanied by a large amount of rain. More than 300,000 people had to leave their homes because of the bad weather.
Hit hard

Today, the typhoon had weakened and moved through the western island of Palawan towards Vietnam, the Philippine National Weather Agency reported.

The region around Surigao, a city on the island of Mindanao, has been hit hard by Rai. Coast Guard footage shows roofs blown off, buildings badly damaged and trees uprooted. There are also reports of destruction and damage to the electricity grid from other places.

About five million people were without power on Thursday. The telephone network is also down in many places. A governor from the affected area warned that food and water supplies are dwindling.
Twenty typhoons a year

According to the national disaster service, the damage that Rai has caused is not so bad compared to that of previous severe typhoons. The Philippines experiences an average of 20 typhoons each year. Rai is the fifteenth and heaviest of this year.

In 2013, the Asian country was hit by the worst typhoon ever. Super Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 6,300 people and displaced four million people. Scientists warn that the typhoons are getting heavier due to climate change.