The Philippines is struggling with the effects of the typhoon as the death toll exceeds 300 by Reuters

By Karen Lema and Enrico Dela Cruz

MANILA (Reuters) – More than 300 people have been killed in a devastating typhoon in the Philippines, flooded villages, cut off electricity and communications lines, and displaced hundreds of thousands in the central and southern regions.

On Monday, military planes and naval vessels were sent to help areas ravaged by typhoon Rai, which has been hit by the country’s 15 worst storms to hit the archipelago this year.

“We are still assessing the damage, but it is enormous,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters on Monday. “The first thing we’re doing is channeling food and water (supplies) and medical care for the injured.”

Lorenzana told the armed forces to use all available goods to deliver the relief goods, and to send more troops if necessary.

The death toll from the storm rose on Monday as rescue efforts continued in hard-hit areas.

Since 1000 GMT, Rai’s death toll has risen to 375, according to a police report, one of the deadliest typhoons to hit the Southeast Asian nation. The number of injured rose to 500, while 56 people were missing.

According to police counts, more than 58 deaths were reported by the national disaster agency, and reports of areas still affected were being verified.

Most of the deaths reported by police were in the central Visayas region, diving sites in Bohol province, some of the most popular tourist destinations, and in the northeastern Caraga region of Mindanao.

Provincial Governor Arthur Yap told CNN Philippines that he feared the death toll could rise further as a lack of mobile phone connections made it difficult to gather information.

Raik, who arrived as a Category 5 typhoon on Thursday, was hit in 2013 by Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded, killing 6,300 people in the Philippines, reviving memories of the 2013 disaster.

Raik displaced nearly 490,000 people in the Philippines before heading to the South China Sea over the weekend.

It left its mark on the provinces of Cebu, Leyte and Surigao del Norte, including Siargao, which is popular with surfers, and the Dinagat Islands.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who visited the typhoon-hit areas over the weekend, pledged about $ 2 billion ($ 40 million) in funds to help with the recovery efforts.