Al Jazeera :
More than 18,000 soldiers and emergency personnel are joining search and rescue efforts in the Philippines, after the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year caused “severe damage” in central and southern regions.
The deployment on Saturday comes as the death toll from Typhoon Rai rose to 33, according to official tallies, and people in affected regions pleaded for basic necessities.
The storm, known locally as Odette, was a super typhoon when it slammed into the eastern island of Siargao on Thursday, packing maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometres per hour (120 miles per hour).
