The death toll from a typhoon that slammed into the Philippines rose to 12 yesterday, and its president feared it could climb further as authorities assess the devastation caused by one of the strongest tropical storms to hit the country this year.
President Rodrigo Duterte said he would visit battered central and southern areas today to see the extent of damage, as the government tried to figure out how much it could raise for the disaster response.
Duterte said coronavirus (Covid-19) spending had already depleted this year’s budget.
“I’m not so much worried about damage to structures,” he said in a televised briefing with disaster officials.
“My fear is if many people died. I am as eager as you to go there to see for myself,” he told Ricardo Jalad, undersecretary at the disaster agency.
Jalad said the death toll was preliminary and he was awaiting information from provincial units before a complete damage assessment could be made.
Most of the reported deaths were due to fallen trees and drowning.
Typhoon Rai, which saw winds of up to 195kph (121mph) before making landfall on Thursday, displaced more than 300,000 people, damaged homes and toppled power and communication lines, complicating the disaster response.
Residents take shelter in a cultural centre turned into an evacuation centre after Super Typhoon Rai passed in Isabela town of the Philippines’ Negros Occidental province.
