Damaged homes, flooding after typhoon hits Philippines

A powerful typhoon left at least 19 people dead, knocked down power and communications in entire provinces and wrought widespread destruction mostly in the central Philippines, officials said Saturday.

The typhoon slammed into the country’s southeastern coast Thursday but the extent of casualties and destruction remained unclear two days after with entire provinces still without power and cellphone connection. Massive floods trapped residents on roofs and damaged buildings including a hotel and an airport.  

Meteorologists said it was moving away into the South China Sea on Friday. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said that funds needed to help affected areas hit by typhoon were depleted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was one of the strongest typhoons to hit the country in recent years.