Typhoon Rai hit the Philippines, killing 389 people, injuring 1,146 others and leaving 65 missing, according to official figures.
The storm made its first landfall on Dec. 16 and brought torrential rains and packing winds up to 168 miles per hour, reported The New York Times.
This is comparable to a Category 5 hurricane.
The storm has blown away buildings, swelled rivers to overflow and forced more than seven million people to flee their homes. Power, water and communications infrastructure were damaged.
More than half a million people are still in evacuation centers or staying with friends and relatives. At least 12 cities and municipalities were declared under a state of calamity, reported the country’s Climate Change Commission.
Residents in remote areas are running out of food, and countries such as the U.S., Canada, China and South Korea are providing aid, reported The New York Times.
After the storm, the Loboc River turned brown from mud and debris, reported The New York Times.
“As the level of global warming continues to increase, these extreme weather events and other climate impacts are becoming severe, and may be irreversible, threatening to further set back our growth as a nation,” stated the Commission in a press release. “The rise in temperature intensifies the water cycle, bringing more intense rainfall and associated flooding, as well as more intense drought in many regions.”
Cleanup operations are still underway and the Philippine military has deployed engineering crews to help rebuild, as electricity and telecommunications have yet to be restored in many areas.
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