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Typhoon kills at least 46 people in the Philippines, leaving thousands more stranded
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Typhoon kills at least 46 people in the Philippines, leaving thousands more stranded

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The death toll from Typhoon Kalmaegi in the Philippines rose to 46 on Tuesday, officials said, including six crew members of a military helicopter that crashed during the powerful storm that brought heavy rains and flooding to the central region.
The Huey helicopter crashed in Agusan del Sur on Mindanao island, where it was carrying out a humanitarian disaster relief mission, the military said. Six crew bodies were recovered and an investigation was launched.

The crash occurred before noon, about 170 miles (270 km) from Cebu island, the worst-hit region, where local authorities said 39 people had drowned or been killed by falling debris. One person was reported dead on the neighboring island of Bohol.

Photos and videos from the Philippine Red Cross show rescuers wading through knee-deep water in Cebu City, using boats to reach stranded residents. Source: Getty / Anadolu

Number of disasters in the Philippines

The Philippines, which is hit by an average of 20 tropical storms each year, is recovering from a series of disasters, including earthquakes and severe weather in recent months.
In September, Typhoon Ragasa hit northern Luzon, forcing schools and government buildings to close due to high winds and heavy rain.

Although Kalmaegi, locally called Tino, has gradually lost strength since making landfall early on Tuesday, it continued to lash the country with winds of 120 km/h and gusts of 165 km/h as it swept across the Visayas Islands on its way north from Palawan and towards the South China Sea.

Tens of thousands were evacuated in the Visayas region, including parts of southern Luzon and northern Mindanao, ahead of a storm that inundated homes and caused widespread flooding.
Cebu provincial information officer Ainjeliz Orong said the number of casualties in the province had suddenly increased from three reported earlier in the day while rescue operations were underway and the information had just arrived.

Floods in Cebu City had subsided late on Tuesday, but power was still out in many places and telecommunications services were intermittent, a Reuters journalist said.

‘The water kept rising’

Verified videos circulating on social media show cars and streets underwater, with some vehicles swept away in the current.
“We were very worried because the longer the rain lasted, the higher the water rose,” said John Patajo, a housekeeper in the area.
“When the water rose, we went to our second floor. But the water kept rising, so we decided to go to our roof.”

The typhoon was expected to leave the Philippines late Wednesday or early Thursday.

State weather agency PAGASA had earlier warned of a high risk of “life-threatening and damaging storm surges” that could exceed 10 feet (3 meters) in coastal and low-lying communities in the central Philippines.

Vietnam on edge

The Vietnamese government said on Tuesday it was preparing for the worst-case scenario as it braced for the impact of Kalmaegi.
The typhoon is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening in Vietnam’s central regions, where heavy flooding has already occurred over the past week that has killed at least 40 people and left six others missing.

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