( CNN ) -- Rescue crews in the Philippines grappled with washed-out roads , downed power lines and poor communications in search of hundreds of people missing after a typhoon that killed more than 300 . More than 180,000 people were left homeless after Typhoon Bopha raked the large southern island of Mindanao with heavy rains and sustained winds of up to 175 kph ( 110 mph ) . As of Thursday morning , the storm had left 325 dead , 411 injured and 379 missing , the Philippines National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported . Many of the missing were in remote highland towns . The storm wiped out the mountain village of Baculin and killed at least half of the residents of nearby Kinablangan , the official Philippines News Agency reported Wednesday . Bopha also severely damaged almost all of the homes in the villages of Boston , Cateel and Baganga , Davao Oriental Gov . Corazon Malanyaon told PNA . `` I felt like there was an earthquake because the winds and rain were so strong , '' said Herbert Yepis , a staff member of the humanitarian group World Vision working in Mindanao . Watch : iReporter captures Typhoon aftermath in southern Philippines . Bopha , known in the Philippines as Pablo , continued to work its way through the island nation Wednesday , making its fourth landfall in the northwestern province of Palawan , PNA reported . The storm had begun to move offshore by Wednesday afternoon , but continued to wash Palawan with heavy rain . It was n't expected to fully clear the Philippines until Thursday . It left chaos and death in its wake . At one point , at least 319 people were missing in the Mindanao town of New Bataan alone , CNN affiliate ABS-CBN reported , citing Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas . `` Entire families may have been washed away , '' ABS-CBN quoted him as saying . At least 180,000 people were living in shelters , according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council , the federal emergency management agency . The Philippine Red Cross put the number at 216,000 . Fresh water is scarce -- ocean water has contaminated many wells -- and sanitation and hygiene are looming problems , said Philippine Red Cross head Richard Gordon . Are you there ? Share your story . Bopha struck first and hardest on Mindanao , which is rarely in the direct path of tropical cyclones . Bopha 's heavy rains set off sudden , violent floods in several parts of the hilly and remote region , washing away houses and dozens of people . The storm damaged 2,970 homes in northern Mindanao , wiping out nearly half of them , according to the country 's emergency management agency . Bopha even thwarted some of the authorities ' efforts to relocate people in vulnerable areas to safer places . `` In one case in Davao Oriental , the evacuation centers -- public buildings and schools -- were also victims of flash flooding , '' said Camilo Gudmalin , assistant secretary at the Department of Social Welfare and Development . `` And as a result , some people who were in an evacuation center died . '' The storm damage and remote location of many of the affected villages made it hard for rescue workers to reach some victims , Gudmalin said . `` We have difficulty communicating with our teams because power lines and communication signals are down , '' Gudmalin said . The storm also damaged at least five bridges and nine major roads , the government said . Fishing boats were delivering relief supplies to some areas . The storm disrupted ferry services , and about 5,000 travelers were left stranded at ports across the country Wednesday . The national disaster agency warned that sea travel remained dangerous in places because of high swells . The storm brought back memories of Severe Tropical Storm Washi , known in the Philippines as Sendong , whose heavy rains swept away entire villages in the same region in December 2011 . More than 1,200 people died in that storm , which caught many people off guard . This time , local authorities did a better job of relocating people out of vulnerable areas and preparing evacuation centers for Bopha , the Philippine Red Cross said . CNN 's Sarita Harilela , Jethro Mullen and Elizabeth Joseph contributed to this report .
NEW : At least 325 people have died as a result of Typhoon Bopha , officials say . The government says 180,000 people are in shelters . Bopha is moving offshore but is still raking northwestern Philippines with heavy rain . The typhoon comes almost a year after a storm killed more than 1,200 people on Mindanao .