Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Rescuers are battling to reach areas cut off in flash floods and mudslides after Typhoon Bopha left around 230 people dead in a trail of devastation across the southern Philippines.
The typhoon brought wind gusts of up to 130mph across the island of Mindanao, felling trees and blowing away homes before weakening overnight as it headed towards the South China Sea.
The death toll from the Philippines’ strongest typhoon this year rose to around 230, with hundreds missing, local government officials told Reuters.
Two provinces on Mindanao’s east coast accounted for 82 of the deaths, according to interior secretary Mar Roxas.
Parts of Mindanao remained without power and communications, with food and clean water in limited supply after Bopha carved a path of destruction.
The typhoon made landfall on the eastern coast of Mindanao early on Tuesday, bringing driving rain and strong winds that forced 87,000 people to seek refuge in emergency shelters.