Dec 21, 2021: As Super Typhoon Rai swept through southern and central Philippines late last week, the death toll from the storm has risen to 375 with 500 people missing, according to data compiled by the National Police.

One most powerful storms to hit the southern Philippines on record, Rai typhoon intensified into the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, with sustained winds of some 100 miles per hour in a band 600 miles across. By the time it exited the Philippines Saturday, the storm had displaced more than 481,000 people, according to the Philippines Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council.

With recovery efforts flailing, over 200 municipalities remain without power, and many Filipinos are homeless. The Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development reported over 53,00 houses have been destroyed and another 83,000 partially damaged.

Flooding and gale-force winds affected hundreds of thousands of people already battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Bingo Matugas of Siargao, where Rai first made landfall, told CNN Philippines that the island is “totally devastated.”

The real impact  of the storm is becoming clear Seventy-two hours after landfall.

“Red Cross emergency teams are reporting complete carnage in the coastal areas. Homes, hospitals, school and community buildings have been ripped to shreds,” said Philippine Red Cross Chairman Sen. Richard Gordon. He said Red Cross volunteers are providing “urgent relief for people who have lost everything, including … somewhere safe to shelter.”

Scientists have long warned that typhoons are becoming more powerful and strengthening more rapidly as the world becomes warmer because of human-driven climate change.

The Philippines ranks among the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change and is hit by an average of 20 storms, some ruinous, every year.

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At least 75 reported dead in Philippines typhoon Rai