More than 338,000 people were also displaced as authorities ordered pre-emptive evacuation in high-risk areas on the path of Rai, the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year. Rai slammed into the country’s east coast on Thursday, tearing off rooftops, toppling trees and electricity posts, causing houses to collapse and triggering floods and landslides. Electricity was cut off in 13 central and southern provinces, affecting about 5 million people, according to the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association. “Houses made from light materials collapsed, concrete structures were damaged, and a lot of areas are without electricity,” said Mark Timbal, spokesman for the national disaster agency. The disaster agency said it was verifying at least 12 deaths from Rai’s onslaught, but police and local officials reported up to 24 fatalities. Twelve people died in the central province of Cebu, including six whose homes were crushed by a huge concrete perimeter fence that collapsed in Mandaue City, said Mayor Jonas Cortes. A South Korean national was among the fatalities in Cebu, added Nagiel Banacia, head of the disaster management council in nearby Lapu-Lapu City. No other details were available. Four people died in Negros Occidental province, west of Cebu, said provincial Governor Jose Lacson. The victims included a 64-year-old woman who was killed when a tree fell on her hut, he said. A 14-year-old boy was pinned down by a toppled tree in the southern province of Bukidnon, police said. Seven other fatalities were reported from the central city of Iloilo and Guimaras province, the southern provinces of Misamis Occidental and Surigao Del Norte, and Siargao Island, known as the surfing capital of the Philippines, the first to be hit by Rai. The typhoon has slightly weakened, and was now packing maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometres per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 205 kph, the weather bureau said. The typhoon was moving westward and was expected to move off the Philippines on Saturday, it added. More than 332,000 people were pre-emptively evacuated from their homes in high-risk areas ahead of Rai's landfall, the disaster agency said. More than 4,000 people were stranded after dozens of domestic flights were cancelled and sea travel was suspended due to the typhoon, it added. Photos on social media showed twisted metal sheets, broken glass windows, splintered wood and other debris strewn on roads. In some photos, brown flood waters submerged entire communities, with only rooftops visible. The airport of Cebu province is not operational, the disaster agency said. The airport terminal of Siargao Island was "totally damaged," said Congressman Franciso Jose Matugas II. The Philippine archipelago is hit by an average of 20 tropical cyclones every year. The strongest typhoon ever to hit the Philippines was Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,300 people and displaced more than 4 million in November 2013.