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Typhoon Kalmaegi leaves 26 dead, displaces hundreds of thousands in Philippines
At least 26 people have died and nearly 400,000 have fled their homes after Typhoon Kalmaegi-one of the strongest storms this year-tore through the central Philippines, officials confirmed Tuesday. The typhoon, known locally as Tino, unleashed catastrophic flooding across Cebu, the country's most populous central island, where most fatalities occurred, with authorities warning the death toll could climb.
Floods overwhelm Cebu as rescue efforts struggle
Videos circulating online showed residents stranded on rooftops, while cars and shipping containers were swept through inundated streets. Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro described the situation as "unprecedented," emphasizing that while high winds had been anticipated, the scale of flooding caught communities off guard.
"The water is what's truly putting our people at risk," Baricuatro wrote in a Facebook post, calling the floodwaters "devastating." Most deaths were attributed to drowning, as torrents of muddy water cascaded down hillsides into towns, burying homes in thick layers of debris. Rescue teams deployed boats to extract trapped residents, many of whom had taken refuge on upper floors.
"I've been here for 28 years, and this is by far the worst we've experienced,"
Don del Rosario, 28, Cebu City resident, via AFP
Military helicopter crash compounds disaster
A Philippine Air Force (PAF) helicopter dispatched to aid relief operations crashed in northern Mindanao, killing all six crew members on board. The aircraft, one of four deployed for rescue missions, lost contact near Agusan del Sur before wreckage and bodies were recovered, a PAF spokeswoman confirmed.
"Communication with the helicopter was lost, which immediately prompted the launch of a search and rescue operation," the PAF stated, without specifying the cause of the crash.
Typhoon weakens but threatens Vietnam next
Kalmaegi has weakened since making landfall early Tuesday, with sustained winds dropping to 80 mph (130 km/h). Forecasters predict it will cross the Visayas islands before exiting into the South China Sea by Wednesday, though heavy rains and gusts persist. The storm's trajectory places Vietnam-already grappling with record rainfall-next in its path.
Back-to-back disasters strain recovery efforts
The Philippines, which endures an average of 20 storms and typhoons annually, has faced a relentless string of disasters in recent months. Kalmaegi struck just weeks after Super Typhoon Ragasa (Nando) and Typhoon Bualoi (Opong) killed over a dozen people in late September, damaging infrastructure and crops. Earlier, an extraordinarily wet monsoon season triggered widespread flooding, sparking protests over alleged corruption in flood-control projects.
On 30 September, a 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked central Philippines, killing dozens and injuring many more, with Cebu again suffering severe damage. Rafaelito Alejandro of the Office of Civil Defence noted that nearly 400,000 people were preemptively evacuated from Kalmaegi's path, though the storm's fury still overwhelmed preparedness measures.
Context: A region under siege
Kalmaegi's destruction compounds a year of extreme weather in Southeast Asia, where climate patterns have intensified storm frequencies and rainfall. The Philippines' vulnerability to typhoons-exacerbated by deforestation, urban sprawl, and aging infrastructure-has left communities like Cebu repeatedly exposed. With Vietnam now bracing for impact, regional disaster agencies face mounting pressure to coordinate cross-border relief.
