The Philippine Red Cross reported "complete carnage" in coastal areas after Typhoon Rai left homes, hospitals and schools "ripped to shreds".
The storm tore off roofs, uprooted trees, toppled concrete power poles, smashed wooden houses to pieces, wiped out crops and flooded villages -- sparking comparisons with Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.
At least 208 people were killed and 52 were missing after the latest disaster to hit the archipelago, with hundreds more injured after the storm ravaged southern and central regions, the national police said.
More than 300,000 people fled their homes and beachfront resorts as Rai slammed into the country on Thursday as a super typhoon.
"Our situation is so desperate," said Ferry Asuncion, a street vendor in the hard-hit seaside city of Surigao, which was devastated by the storm.
They urgently needed "drinking water and food", he said.
One of the hardest-hit islands was Bohol -- known for its beaches, rolling "Chocolate Hills", and tiny tarsier primates -- where at least 74 people have died, provincial Governor Arthur Yap said on his official Facebook page.
The Philippines -- ranked among the globe's most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change -- is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons every year, which typically wipe out harvests, homes and infrastructure in already impoverished areas.
Typhoon Haiyan, called Yolanda in the Philippines, was at the time the deadliest storm ever to have made landfall and left more than 7,300 people dead or missing.
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