Typhoon Phanfone: 16 killed in central Phillipines on Christmas day

Typhoon Phanfone swept across the remote villages in the central Philippines on December 25 and killed at least 16. Authorities reportedly said on Thursday that winds of 195 kilometres per hour, tearing off houses and toppling the electric posts as Phanfone passed through the Philippines. The internet and mobile phone networks are still cut off in some of the severely affected areas The entire assessment of Typhoon's damage was not possible until the morning of December 26 but nearly 16 people have been confirmed as dead in villages and towns in the Visayas. 

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Typhoon Phanfone

The typhoon also hit Boracay, Coron, and other holiday destinations that are popular among tourists for their white-sand beaches. According to a stranded Korean tourist, even the airport at Kalibo which provides services to Boracay was severely damaged. Jung Byung Joon sent images of the destruction to an international agency and informed that roads remain blocked. Even though there were some efforts made by the authorities Joon said 'it is pretty bad'. Everything within nearly 100 meters of the airport looked 'broken' to the Korean tourist and people were 'frustrated' with the flights being cancelled. The foreigners reportedly did not leave the airport even after the flights being cancelled because the weather was windy and raining.

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Phanfone is reportedly weaker than Typhoon Haiyan but it is tracking the same path. Haiyan was the deadliest storm on record that damaged the country and left more than 7,300 people dead or missing in 2013. Cindy Ferrer, an information officer at the Western Visayas region's disaster officer told an international agency that Phanfone is 'like a younger sibling of Haiyan' but it is less destructive. The Christmas celebrations in the mostly Catholic nation witnessed havoc with tens of thousands of people being forced o evacuate their homes. Many people were unable to reach their families with both ferries, and planes services being suspended. Among the people killed by Phanfone was a police officer who reportedly suffered an electric shock by a fallen electric post. 

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(With agency inputs)