Saudi Press

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Friday, Jan 09, 2026

Death toll in Philippines from Typhoon Rai surpasses 200. Dozens of people are still missing.

The Philippines' disaster relief agency has said that more than 700,000 people have been affected.
Philippine officials said Monday the death toll from Typhoon Rai has risen to 208 and 52 people were still missing, per AP.

Rai was a super typhoon upon initial landfall and was the strongest storm to strike the Philippines this year, with the equivalent strength of a Category 5 hurricane. It caused widespread power and communications outages and wounded at least 239 people.

More than 700,000 people have been affected by the typhoon, which is called Odette in the Philippines, and over 370,000 people were preemptively evacuated, officials said, per the Washington Post.

80 storm-related deaths have been confirmed so far in Bohol in the central Philippines, according to a statement from the province's governor, Arthur Yap, on Monday.

"Many areas have no power, no communications, very little water," Philippine Red Cross chair Richard Gordon told the BBC.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte toured parts of the devastation Saturday and pledged to give 2 billion pesos (about $40 million) in aid, according to AP.

Rai was south of China on Monday and has weakened to a Category 1 storm.

While typhoons occur frequently in the Philippines, experts have warned that climate change may exacerbate these storms and make them more frequent, per WashPost.
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