Death toll from Philippines typhoon passes 20

At least 23 people have been killed in the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, officials said Saturday, with "alarming" reports of destruction on islands that bore the brunt of the storm.

More than 300,000 people fled their homes and beachfront resorts as Typhoon Rai ravaged the southern and central regions of the archipelago, knocking out communications and electricity in many areas, ripping off roofs and toppling concrete power poles.

Rai was a super typhoon when it smashed into the popular tourist island of Siargao on Thursday, packing maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour).

Aerial photos shared by the military showed widespread damage in the town of General Luna where many surfers and holidaymakers had flocked ahead of Christmas, with buildings stripped of roofs and debris littering the ground.

The neighboring island of Dinagat had been "leveled to the ground" by the storm, Governor Arlene Bag-ao wrote on Facebook, saying houses, boats and fields were destroyed.

"Walls and roofs were torn and blown off by Odette like paper," Bag-ao said, using the local name for the typhoon.

"We have a dwindling supply of food and water. Electricity and telecommunications are down."

Rai's wind speeds eased to 150 kph as it barrelled across the country, dumping torrential rain that flooded villages, uprooting trees and shattering wooden structures.

It emerged over the South China Sea on Saturday and was headed towards Vietnam, the state weather forecaster said.

"This is indeed one of the most powerful storms that has hit the Philippines in the month of December in the last decade," Alberto Bocanegra, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Philippines, said.