MANILA, Philippines — The death toll of Super Typhoon Odette (international name Rai) has climbed to 375 according to the Philippine National Police's monitoring across six of its regional offices, it disclosed Tuesday.
The regional police office in Central Visayas recorded the highest number of deaths with 170 casualties in the region. Police Col. Rhoderick Alba, PNP spokesperson, was careful to point out that the fatality figures are still up for validation.
As of Tuesday midnight, 56 remain missing while 515 have been listed as injured in the aftermath of the most destructive typhoon to hit the country after Yolanda in 2013.
The PNP's National Disaster Operations Center said 4,980 people had to be rescued by local police, with over 4,000 of them coming from the Mimaropa region.
Some 99,568 individuals are also still seeking shelter in evacuation centers, the PNP's tally showed.
It also recorded an estimated P81.2 million in damage to houses and infrastructure in Northern Mindanao.
In the entire country, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported Monday that 5,391.77 hectares of agriculture were damaged by the typhoon, which also damaged 3,803 houses.
The typhoon also caused power outages and interruptions in 227 cities and municipalities in the Mimaropa region, in the Visayas, and in Northern Mindanao, the Davao region, CARAGA and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The PNP has since mobilized its ground personnel to assist in rescue and relief operations. It noted that many national highways and connecting roads have been rendered impassable due to the fallen trees and toppled posts.
A total of 5,837 personnel have been deployed, with the Reactionary Standby Support Force focused on Relief, Search and Rescue Operations.