Thousands of tourists were stranded in Cebu City in the Philippines after super typhoon Rai damaged airports and caused flight cancellations.

Video taken on December 18 shows the tourists crowding outside a mall complex to charge their phones. The storm had knocked out electricity and communication lines in the city, hampering rescue efforts.

Resident Emmanuelle Secabalo said: ‘We didn’t expect the typhoon to be that strong. I thought it was just going to be rain, but the winds actually uprooted some of the houses and destroyed establishments, electric posts, and trees here in Cebu.

‘It was so traumatising since this is my first time experiencing such weather.’

Aviation authorities said about 33,000 passengers, most of whom were domestic tourists, have been affected by airport closures due to Typhoon Rai. Some 23,102 people using Cebu Pacific Air have reportedly been affected.

Cebu governer Gwendolyn Garcia has placed the entire province under a state of calamity on December 17 to allow local government units access to calamity funds.

Typhoon Rai, known locally as Odette, smashed into the Philippines on December 16, with winds of up to 195 kilometres per hour, making its first landfall on Siargao island. The powerful typhoon left widespread devastation across the country’s Visayas and Mindanao Islands.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said more than 1.8 million people have been affected by Typhoon Rai, leaving at least 156 people dead and 275 more injured.

Meanwhile the Philippine National Police said the death tally has reached 375 as of Tuesday December 21. The NDRRMC said it is now verifying the data.

Local government units in affected areas have reported power outages and telecommunication problems, with coastal areas suffering the brunt of the damage.

National weather agency Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Typhoon Rai left the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Saturday December 18. It is now moving along China’s southeastern coast.