Officials: Strong typhoon kills 10 in Philippines

Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Officials in the Philippines said Monday that Typhoon Rolly killed at least 10 people as it battered the archipelago nation over the weekend.

The Office of Civil Defense announced the death toll early Monday, adding that at least three others were missing.

Nine of the deaths, including that of a 5-year-old boy, were reported in the central region of Albay while the other was in Gigmoto of the Catanduanes Island, officials said.

The storm, locally named Rolly and internationally as Goni, hit the Philippines early Sunday as a super typhoon with winds recorded at 195 mph before it made landfall at the Catanduanes Island and left a path of destruction in its wake.

Ricardo Jalad, the spokesman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said Monday that more than 2 million people in 12 regions were affected by the storm, including nearly 400,000 people who were evacuated ahead of Rolly making landfall.

Power outages were also reported in 125 cities and municipalities in three central regions, Jalad said.

The Philippine Red Cross said on the island of Catanduanes that up to 90% of the houses in the municipality of Virac, 80% of the houses in Bato and half of all houses in San Andres were damaged.

The NDRRMC estimates that between 19.8 million and nearly 32 million people were exposed to the typhoon, and the United Nations said Monday that it is mobilizing humanitarian support to aid the Philippines' response to the natural disaster.

Gustavo Gonzalez, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator to the Philippines, said in a statement that they did not wait until landfall to start getting into position.

"U.N. agencies and humanitarian NGOs are already working with relevant government departments and offices, Philippe Red Cross and with private sector groups to coordinate our efforts to support the conduct of rapid needs assessments and swiftly assist the most vulnerable people caught in the typhoon's destructive path," Gonzalez said.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent launched an emergency appeal for $3.8 million to fund relief and recovery efforts for some 80,000 people.

"We are horrified by the devastation caused by this typhoon in many areas, including Catanduanes Island and Albay," Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon said in a release. "This typhoon has smashed into people's lives and livelihoods on top of the relentless physical, emotional and economic toll of COVID-19."

Rolly was the fourth typhoon to hit the Philippines in the past month.