Typhoon Bopha Leaves Hundreds Dead in Philippines (Photos)

A powerful typhoon slammed into the southern Philippine Islands earlier this week killing 274 people, injuring 339, with 279 still missing, reported disaster officials on Wednesday.
Typhoon Bopha Leaves Hundreds Dead in Philippines (Photos)
Residents ride on a motorbike locally known as a "habal habal" as they home in New Bataan town. (Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images)
12/5/2012
Updated:
12/9/2012
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A girl sits on top of boulders washed to the road by flash floods at the height Typhoon Bopha in the village of Andap, New Bataan town, Compostela Valley province on Dec. 5, 2012. (Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images)
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Residents watch as a river rises near their homes due to heavy rains brought about by Typhoon Bophal in Cagayan de Oro City. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

A powerful typhoon slammed into the southern Philippine Islands earlier this week killing 274 people, injuring 339, with 279 still missing, reported disaster officials on Wednesday.

Typhoon Bopha hit the island of Mindanao on Tuesday, destroying thousands of homes as it left a path of destruction in its wake, reported broadcaster ABS-CBN. Hundreds of people are still missing and officials fear the death toll will rise even higher as rescuers try to reach isolated areas that were cut off during the storm.

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Residents using a makeshift stretcher carry the dead body of a boy as they cross a destroyed highway in the village of Andap, New Bataan town, Compostela Valley province on Dec. 5, 2012 (Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images)
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A boy rides on a makeshift raft made from banana tree as he makes his way through their flooded home in Pantukan town. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)
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A woman dries her documents in front of her damaged house in Monte Vista town. (AljibeAFP/Getty Images)

Numerous people were killed in gold mining areas in the mountains. Landslides and flash floods caused the most destruction, civil defense head Benito Ramos told the broadcaster.

But the most hard-hit area was the Compostela Valley, killing at least 150 people, reported The Associated Press.

“These are whole families, six or seven names with the same surname. It is saddening to think entire families have been washed away,” Interior Secretary Mar Roxas was quoted as saying by ABS. Entire villages were flattened in some areas, reported The New York Times.

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Residents try to identify dead bodies of relatives, victims of flash floods in New Bataan. (Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images)
<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/157652145.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-322146" src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/157652145-676x445.jpg" alt="A couple fix their destroyed house in Monte Vista town, Compostela Valley province on Dec. 5, 2012. (Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images)" width="590" height="389"/></a>
A couple fix their destroyed house in Monte Vista town, Compostela Valley province on Dec. 5, 2012. (Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images)

Roxas flew to Mindanao after the typhoon passed, adding that “there is hardly any structure that is undamaged.” 

President Benigno Aquino III told reporters on Wednesday that more needs to be done to prevent damage done by the frequent natural disasters that hit the Philippines.

“Any single casualty is a cause for distress. Our aim must always be about finding ways to lessen them,” he said, according to GMA News. Last December, a typhoon killed 1,200 people and caused more widespread damage, said Aquino.

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Residents from a nearby village evacuate to a safer place in the village of Andap, New Bataan town, Compostela Valley province on Dec. 5, 2012.  (Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images)
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Residents ride on a motorbike locally known as a