Roundup: Typhoon Rai exits Philippines, death toll rises to 31

MANILA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- "I can hear the strong wind, howling as it peels off the iron sheets of our house," Acerns Velasco of Lapu-Lapu City in the central Philippines said in a Facebook post seven hours after Typhoon Rai slammed into the country on Thursday.

The strongest typhoon to batter the Philippines this year swelled rivers and flooded low-lying areas while cutting through towns and villages in the ce