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Super Typhoon Rai - One Month On: In Numbers

Countries
Philippines
Sources
OCHA
Publication date
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Super Typhoon Rai, (local name Odette) which struck the Philippines on 16 and 17 December, was 2021’s second-deadliest disaster following the Haiti earthquake. The storm swept through 11 of the country’s 17 regions, leaving a swathe of destruction. It damaged houses and roads, tore down power lines, destroyed trees and crops, and smashed fishing boats to pieces. The Government declared a state of calamity in six regions.

Rai hit just as the world was tuning out and shutting down for the holidays, following an exhausting year battling COVID-19 and climate-related disasters. One month on, families are still reeling from the storm’s effects and struggling to pick up the pieces of their lives. Meanwhile, a country-wide COVID-19 surge and heavy rains linked to La Niña are severely hampering the response in the Caraga region in north-eastern Mindanao, and the Leyte and Southern Leyte provinces of the Visayas islands.

Here is the story of Super Typhoon Rai in numbers.

8 million

The number of people affected by Rai. Southern Leyte was one of the worst-affected provinces, with 18 towns and cities suffering damage, and its capital Maasin city, utterly devastated. These areas desperately need more personnel and aid supplies.

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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.