Philippines: Typhoon Kammuri Takes 13 Lives, Displaces More

According to officials, the death toll from the Typhoon Kammuri that hit the Southeast Asian country of the Philippines has hit 13.

The typhoon hit the country this week, coming in with strong winds that felled trees and crushed homes across the country, forcing the shutdown of the Manila International Airport for 12 hours.

Reports say that one life was lost on Wednesday by drowning, while three other people have died after they were hit by trees and other strayed object sent into the air by the storm's string winds.

The deaths of the other victims remain unknown but according to the country's police command, they may have died by drowning or by objects swirling in the air.

Spokesperson for Philippines' national disaster agency, Mark Timbal said that no new bodies have been discovered but it is expected that the death toll will rise.

“There is the possibility of an increase in the number, but we are hoping against it,” the spokesman said to AFP.

Residents living in low-lying areas have been evacuated from their homes before the storm swooped in on Monday, and this move has been of great help, saving hundreds of thousands of lives.

Typhoon Kammuri, since it made landfall has destroyed over 135 schools and flattened nearly 1,200 homes, with crops worth $16 million damaged in its wake.

Every year, the Philippines experiences, in an average, 20 storms and typhoons, taking hundreds of lives and displacing as many people.

The Bicol region, the hardest hit region in the country by the typhoon will be visited by President Rodrigo Duerte on Thursday.