Death toll climbed and at least 375 people are now known to have died after a powerful storm struck the Philippines on Thursday, police say.
Earlier Super Typhoon Rai – with winds of about 195km/h (120mph) – sent some 400,000 people running for safety when it hit the country’s south-eastern islands.
At least 500 people were injured and 56 others have been reported missing by local police.
Rescue teams have described scenes of “complete carnage”.
But establishing the scale of the losses is difficult, as communication to a number of areas has been cut off.
There are fears widespread landslides and flooding may have claimed more lives.
UN allocates 12 million dollars emergency funds for major disaster that affected 220000 people affected by typhoon in Philippines
The UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in the Philippines, Gustavo Gonzalez, said on Thursday that typhoon Rai has been devastating.
Some 3 million people need assistance, among them 1 million children.
A total of 631,000 have been displaced and about 200,000 houses have been damaged, he told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.
People are in urgent need of emergency shelter, drinking water and food, he said.
On Friday, the UN will launch a humanitarian needs and priority plan that asks for $106.5 million dollars, targeting 530,000 people in the worst-hit areas, Gonzalez added.
The Philippine National Police has put the death toll due to the typhoon at 375, while many more are missing or injured.
The allocation will help 220,000 vulnerable people through interventions in food security, protection, water and sanitation hygiene, camp management, shelter and logistics, as well as telecommunications in the hardest-hit Caraga region and Region VIII, Xinhua news agency quoted the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs as saying.
