Typhoon deaths in Philippines top 100, mayors plead for food

A woman sits beside damaged homes due to Typhoon Rai in Talisay, Cebu province, central Philippines on Saturday Dec. 18, 2021. A strong typhoon engulfed villages…

A woman sits beside damaged homes due to Typhoon Rai in Talisay, Cebu province, central Philippines on Saturday Dec. 18, 2021. A strong typhoon engulfed villages in floods that trapped residents on roofs, toppled trees and knocked out power in southern and central island provinces, where more than 300,000 villagers had fled to safety before the onslaught, officials said. (AP Photo/Jay Labra)

by: Perry Groten

Posted: Dec 19, 2021 / 06:50 AM CST

Updated: Dec 19, 2021 / 10:14 AM CST

MANILA, Philippines (ASSOCIATED PRESS) –The governor of an island province in the central Philippines says at least 72 people have died in the devastation wrought by Typhoon Rai in more than half of the towns that managed to contact him, bringing the death toll in the strongest typhoon to batter the country this year to at least 146.

Governor Arthur Yap of Bohol province says 10 others were missing and 13 injured, and suggested the fatalities may still considerably increase with many mayors unable to report back to him due to downed communications.

He appealed for food packs and drinking water. Officials on Dinagat Islands, one of the hard-hit provinces first pounded by the typhoon, separately reported 10 deaths from just a few towns.