Typhoon Ray kills 75 in the Philippines

At least 75 people were killed by Typhoon Ray in the Philippines, the most powerful typhoon to hit the country this year, authorities said Sunday.

The governor of the tourist island of Bohol (center), Arthur Yap, said - via Facebook - that 49 people were killed and 10 others were missing in his area, bringing the temporary death toll to 75.

He said that communications are still cut, noting that only 21 mayors out of 48 contacted the authorities.

Hurricane Ray, which hit the famous tourist island of Siargao last Thursday, was a super-strong cyclone; The accompanying wind speed reached 195 kilometers per hour.

More than 300,000 people have been forced to leave their homes and tourist resorts since last Thursday, due to the cyclone, which led to power cuts and communications in many areas, after destroying communication towers, bringing down electricity poles, uprooting trees and demolishing homes.

On Friday afternoon, it hit the north of the island of Palawan - the famous tourist destination - before moving towards the South China Sea towards Vietnam.

Hurricane Ray comes late, as most tropical storms in the Pacific Ocean usually form between July and October.

Scientists have been warning for some time that hurricanes are getting more violent with the increase in climate warming caused by human activity.