Deadly Typhoon Heads For Vietnam After Killing At Least 114 In Philippines
A state of emergency has been declared in the Philippines, after at least 114 people died of Typhoon Kalmaegi, the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country this year.
Typhoon Kalmaegi flooded entire towns on Cebu, the region’s most populous island. A further 127 people remain missing and 82 are injured, according to authorities.
Meanwhile, Vietnam is preparing for the typhoon, with the country’s financial hub, Ho Chi Minh City, facing a heightened risk of severe flooding.
High tides are expected on the Saigon River, which will coincide with up to four inches of rainfall, forecasters warned.
In the Philippines, Kalmaegi affected nearly 2 million people, and displaced more than 560,000 people, the Office of Civil Defence said.
Residents try to salvage personal belongings as they return to their damaged homes in Cebu.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a “state of natural calamity” on Thursday during a meeting with disaster-response officials to assess the typhoon’s aftermath. The move allows the government to disburse emergency funds faster and prevent food hoarding and overpricing.
But while dealing with the disastrous impact of Kalmaegi in the country’s central region, disaster-response officials warned that another cyclone in the Pacific could strengthen into a super typhoon which could batter the northern Philippines early next week.
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Impact of Typhoon Disaster
President Marcos said the combined impact of Kalmaegi and the approaching new typhoon covers about two-thirds of the archipelago.
Residents walk along debris along a shoreline after Typhoon Kalmaegi caused devastation in communities at Talisay City, Cebu.
Among the dead were six people who were killed when a Philippine air force helicopter crashed in the southern province of Agusan del Sur on Tuesday. The crew was on its way to provide humanitarian help to provinces affected by the typhoon.
More than one-and-a-half months’ worth of rainfall fell in just one day on Tuesday in metropolitan Cebu, state forecasters said.
It set off flash floods and caused rivers and waterways to swell in the city and outlying towns. The resulting flooding engulfed residential communities, forcing residents to climb onto their roofs as floodwaters quickly rose.
At least 71 people died in Cebu, mostly due to drowning, while 65 others were reported missing and 69 injured.
Officials added that 62 others were reported missing in the central province of Negros Occidental.
“We did everything we can for the typhoon but there are really some unexpected things like flash floods,” the governor of Cebu, Pamela Baricuatro, told the Associated Press.
Vehicles lie piled on after flooding caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi in Cebu city, central Philippines. Credit: AP
The problems may have been made worse by years of quarrying that clogged nearby rivers, which overflowed, and substandard flood control projects in the province, Baricuatro said.
A corruption scandal involving substandard or non-existent flood control projects across the Philippines has sparked public outrage and street protests in recent months.
Cebu was still recovering from a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in September, which left at least 79 people dead and thousands displaced when houses collapsed or were severely damaged.
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