Typhoon Rai, the strongest typhoon to strike the Philippines this year, has reached a death toll of at least 146, with even more fatalities to be reported, according to local officials.
Governor Arthur Yap's province of Bohol was especially hard hit, with 72 deaths, 10 missing, and 13 injured. Yap believes this death toll will continue to climb as 15 of the province’s 48 mayors have not been able to report casualties because of communication channels disrupted by the typhoon. After a military aerial survey of the region, Yap said “it is very clear that the damage sustained by Bohol is great and all-encompassing” as he ordered Bohol province mayors to invoke emergency powers to secure food and drinking water for the province’s 1.2 million people.
Outside of Bohol, at least 64 additional typhoon deaths were reported by national and local officials.
