MANILA — More than 90 people are now thought to have died after a devastating storm struck the Philippines on Thursday.

Super Typhoon Rai — with winds of about 195km/h (120mph) — sent some 300,000 people running for safety when it hit the country's south-eastern islands.

Rescue teams have described scenes of "complete carnage". But establishing the scale of the losses has proved difficult, as communication to a number of areas has been cut off.

At least 99 deaths have been reported, according to AFP news agency, with fears of landslides and flooding may have claimed more lives. The Associated Press news agency puts the toll at 112 or more.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has launched an emergency appeal seeking 20 million Swiss francs to fund long-term relief efforts.

"Red Cross emergency teams are reporting complete carnage in the coastal areas," Philippine chair Richard Gordon said. "Homes, hospitals, school and community buildings have been ripped to shreds."

Volunteers are on the scene giving out urgent help "for people who have lost everything", he said.

Thousands of military, coast guard and fire personnel have been deployed in the country's worst-affected areas to assist with search and rescue efforts.

Meanwhile, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has conducted an aerial inspection of the areas ravaged by the storm.

Videos posted on social media by his aides show extensive damage to Siargao, Dinagat and Mindanao islands.

The governor of the Dinagat islands, Arlene Bag-ao, said on Facebook that the region had been "leveled to the ground" by the typhoon.

"The fields and boats of our farmers and fisherfolk have been decimated," she said in the message quoted by news site Rappler.

"[W]e have lost our homes. Walls and roofs were torn and blown off.... We have a dwindling supply of food and water."

She said the damage "is reminiscent of, if not worse than, when Yolanda hit our province".

Governor of Bohol Island Arthur Yab stated that Tyhoon Rai was responsible for the failure of communication networks and electricity in many areas as buildings collapsed and electricity poles were damaged.

More than 6,000 people died when that storm — also known as Typhoon Haiyan — hit the country in 2013. It remains the country's deadliest storm on record.

On average about 20 storms and typhoons strike the Philippines each year. Super Typhoon Rai is the most powerful to hit the Philippines in 2021, and comes late in the region's typhoon season — with most cyclones developing between July and October.

Scientists have long warned that rising global temperatures, induced by man-made climate change, are causing typhoons to become more powerful and strengthen more rapidly. — BBC