Typhoon kills 58 in Philippines, heads towards Vietnam
Adrian Portugal and Eloisa Lopez |
At least 58 people are dead after Typhoon Kalmaegi left a trail of destruction in the central Philippines and continued to batter parts of Palawan island as it headed towards the South China Sea.
Among the fatalities were six military personnel whose helicopter crashed on the island of Mindanao during a humanitarian mission.
Scenes of devastation emerged in the province of Cebu, a major tourist hub, as floodwaters receded, revealing destroyed homes, overturned vehicles, and widespread debris.
The disaster agency reported 13 people missing. The devastation from Kalmaegi, locally named Tino, comes just over a month after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck northern Cebu, killing dozens and displacing thousands.
Kalmaegi, which has weakened after making landfall early on Tuesday, is forecast to regain strength while over the South China Sea, state weather PAGASA said in its latest bulletin on Wednesday.
More than 200,000 people were evacuated across the Visayas region, including parts of southern Luzon and northern Mindanao, ahead of a storm that submerged homes and caused widespread flooding and power outages.
Packing winds of 120 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 165km/h, Kalmaegi, the twentieth storm to hit the Philippines in 2025, is heading towards Vietnam where preparations are under way ahead of its expected landfall on Friday.
In September, Super Typhoon Ragasa swept across northern Luzon, forcing schools and government offices to shut down as it brought fierce winds and torrential rain.
Reuters
