Manila,
The
number of deaths from a powerful storm that hit the Philippines on
Christmas has climbed to 41, authorities said Sunday, with tens of
thousands still in evacuation centres.
Typhoon
Phanfone left the Philippines on Saturday after devastating several
islands in the central Visayas, including popular tourist destinations,
but the extent of the damage continued to grow as assessments came in.
The
death toll of 41 -- up from 28 on Friday -- included three boat crew
who died after their vessel capsized due to strong winds, a policeman
electrocuted by a toppled post, and a man struck by a felled tree.
"We're
hoping that there will be no more fatalities," national disaster agency
spokesman Mark Timbal told AFP, with authorities still searching for 12
people missing.
EVACUATIONS
The latest agency report showed
over 1.6 million people were affected by the typhoon, which damaged over
260,000 houses and forced almost a hundred thousand people to flee to
emergency shelters.
Many
of the affected residents in the predominantly Catholic nation
celebrated Christmas in evacuation centres, where they may have to stay
until the New Year given the scale of destruction.
The government estimated that the storm has caused damage to agriculture and infrastructure worth $21 million.
Power
lines and internet connections remain down in some areas after
Phanfone's powerful wind gusts of up to 200 kilometres (124 miles) per
hour toppled electric posts and trees.
MANY CYCLONES
Typhoon
Phanfone, locally called Ursula, is the 21st cyclone to hit the
storm-prone Philippines, which is the first major landmass facing the
Pacific typhoon belt.
Many
of the storms are deadly, and they typically wipe out harvests, homes
and infrastructure, keeping millions of people perennially poor.
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