Daijiworld Media Network - Manila
Manila, Nov 6: The death toll from the widespread flooding and devastation caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi in the central Philippines has climbed to at least 114, with 127 others reported missing, officials said on Wednesday.
Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defence, said most fatalities were reported from Cebu province, which bore the brunt of the storm’s fury. The typhoon triggered flash floods and caused rivers and waterways to overflow, inundating several communities.
Kalmaegi moved away from western Palawan province into the South China Sea by Wednesday noon and is now heading toward Vietnam, forecasters said.
Among the dead were six personnel of the Philippine Air Force who were killed when their helicopter crashed in Agusan del Sur on Tuesday while on a humanitarian mission. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Authorities said flash floods in Cebu forced residents to climb onto rooftops as floodwaters rose rapidly. The Philippine Red Cross received numerous distress calls from trapped residents seeking rescue.
At least 49 people drowned in Cebu, while others perished in landslides and due to falling debris. Sixty-two others were reported missing in the nearby provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental.
Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro said the flooding was unprecedented. “We did everything we could for the typhoon, but there are always unexpected things like flash floods,” she told The Associated Press.
Volunteer rescuer Caloy Ramirez described the devastation as “the worst” he had ever seen, saying that floodwaters swallowed homes within minutes, leaving residents scrambling to safety.
Officials suspect that years of quarrying and substandard flood control projects worsened the impact. The province has since been placed under a state of calamity to expedite emergency relief operations.
Cebu was already reeling from a 6.9-magnitude earthquake on September 30 that killed at least 79 people and displaced thousands. Many evacuees from the quake had been moved to sturdier shelters before the typhoon struck, preventing further loss of life.
Ahead of Kalmaegi’s landfall, over 387,000 residents had been evacuated to safer areas, while ferries and fishing boats were grounded due to rough seas, stranding more than 3,500 passengers. At least 186 domestic flights were cancelled.
As Kalmaegi barrels toward Vietnam and Thailand, authorities there have begun precautionary evacuations and are preparing for more torrential rain and flooding.
The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, experiences about 20 typhoons each year, along with frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.