Manila, Philippines — Typhoon Kalmaegi has claimed at least 26 lives across the Philippines after torrential rains and fierce winds triggered widespread flooding and destruction as the powerful storm swept across the central region on Tuesday, authorities said.
Floodwaters submerged communities, trapped residents on rooftops, and left cars floating in the streets. Emergency officials said many of the deaths occurred in Cebu and other central provinces hit hardest by the storm, which brought sustained winds of 130 kilometers per hour (81 mph) and gusts of up to 180 kph (112 mph).
In a separate tragedy, six Philippine Air Force personnel were killed when a Super Huey helicopter crashed in Agusan del Sur province while delivering humanitarian aid to typhoon-affected areas. The military confirmed that all bodies were recovered from the crash site near Loreto town.
Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defense, said officials were still verifying the details of the storm-related fatalities. Among the dead were an elderly man who drowned in floodwaters in Southern Leyte and a resident of Bohol province who died after being struck by a fallen tree.
In Cebu province, one of the hardest-hit regions, Philippine Red Cross Secretary-General Gwendolyn Pang said rescuers were overwhelmed by distress calls from residents stranded by the floods. “We have received so many calls from people asking us to rescue them from roofs and from their houses, but it’s impossible,” Pang told the Associated Press. “There are so many debris — you see cars floating — so we have to wait for the flood to subside.”
The storm hit as Cebu was still recovering from a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on September 30 that killed at least 79 people and displaced thousands.
In Eastern Samar, where Kalmaegi made landfall around midnight, strong winds tore the roofs off roughly 300 homes in the island community of Homonhon, part of Guiuan town — the same area devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. Guiuan Mayor Annaliza Gonzales Kwan said there were no deaths or injuries reported this time, though many houses were damaged. “We’re OK. We’ll make it through,” Kwan said. “We’ve been through worse.”
Before the storm struck, authorities had evacuated more than 387,000 people from low-lying and coastal areas in anticipation of torrential rains, storm surges up to three meters (nearly 10 feet), and destructive winds.
Maritime authorities suspended inter-island ferry operations, stranding over 3,500 passengers and truck drivers in nearly 100 seaports, while at least 186 domestic flights were canceled nationwide due to severe weather.
As of late Tuesday, Kalmaegi was moving westward toward the South China Sea after sweeping across the Visayas and Palawan regions.
The Philippines, located along the Pacific typhoon belt, experiences about 20 storms and typhoons each year, in addition to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions — making it one of the most disaster-prone nations in the world.
SOURCE : AP NEWS | Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube |
