Philippines typhoon Rai: Month-old baby rescued to safety in a tub

Three people have died, while 332,000 people were evacuated from high-risk villages

A one-month-old baby was taken to safety in a laundry tub by emergency workers through raging floodwaters as super typhoon Rail wreaked havoc in the Philippines, leaving three people dead and several displaced.

As winds and continuous downpour lashed the island nations, coastguards in the southern city of Cagayan de Oro were seen rescuing the baby as they waded through chest-deep waters. Two rescuers shielded the baby from rain and winds with an umbrella.

Search and rescue operations are underway after the typhoon barreled through the island as a Category 5 storm and weakened to Category 3 on Thursday.

Social media images showed ferocious winds ripping off roofs, forcing trees down and towns being submerged in water. Others showed people carrying a coffin down a flooded road in San Vicente.

A handout picture made available by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shows PCG personnel evacuating residents living along a coastline in the Caraga region, southern Philippines (EPA)

At least 300,000 villagers fled to safety before the strong typhoon struck. It caused widespread power outages, broken bridges, and fallen trees.

Mayor Jerry Trenas of central Iloilo city said: “I have never experienced such ferocity of the wind in my life and we were not even directly hit.”

He said that at least one person was killed when she was hit by a cluster of bamboo blown down by the storm.

Additional reporting by agencies