Philippines declares state of emergency as Typhoon Kalmaegi leaves more than 100 dead

Manila:Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos jnr has declared a state of emergency after Typhoon Kalmaegi left at least 114 people dead and hundreds missing in central provinces in the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country this year.

The deaths were mostly from drowning in flash floods, and 127 people were still missing, many in the hard-hit central province of Cebu. The tropical cyclone blew out of the archipelago on Wednesday into the South China Sea.

Among the dead were six crew members of a Philippine Air Force helicopter that crashed in Agusan del Sur province on Mindanao island during a disaster response mission, the military said. It did not give the cause of the crash.

The typhoon’s onslaught affected nearly 2 million people and displaced more than 560,000 villagers, including nearly 450,000 who were evacuated to emergency shelters, the Office of Civil Defence said.

Marcos’s “state of national calamity” declaration, made during a meeting with disaster-response officials to assess the typhoon’s aftermath, would allow the government to disburse emergency funds faster and prevent food hoarding and overpricing.

While still dealing with the deadly and disastrous impact of Kalmaegi in the country’s central region, disaster-response officials warned that another tropical cyclone from the Pacific could strengthen into a super typhoon and batter the northern Philippines early next week.

Kalmaegi set off flash floods and caused a river and other waterways to swell in Cebu province. The resulting flooding engulfed residential communities, forcing residents to climb onto their roofs, where they desperately pleaded to be rescued as the floodwaters rose, provincial officials said.

At least 71 people died in Cebu, mostly due to drownings, while 65 others were reported missing and 69 injured, the Office of Civil Defence said. It added that 62 others were reported missing in the central province of Negros Occidental, which is located near Cebu.

“We did everything we can for the typhoon but, you know, there are really some unexpected things like flash floods,” Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro said by telephone.

The problems might have been worsened by years of quarrying that caused clogging of nearby rivers, which overflowed, and substandard flood control projects in Cebu 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 on September 30 that left at least 79 people dead and displaced thousands when houses collapsed or were severely damaged.

Thousands of northern Cebu residents who were displaced by the earthquake were moved to sturdier evacuation shelters from flimsy tents before the typhoon struck, Baricuatro said. Northern towns devastated by the earthquake were mostly not hit by floods generated by Kalmaegi, she added.

Ferries and fishing boats were prohibited from venturing out to increasingly rough seas, stranding more than 3500 passengers and cargo truck drivers in nearly 100 seaports, the coast guard said. At least 186 domestic flights were cancelled.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year. The country is also often hit by earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

Forecasters estimate the storm will reach Vietnam’s coast on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s weather agency issued an advisory for the northern, eastern and central parts of the country, warning that Kalmaegi would bring heavy rain on Friday and into the weekend that could cause flash floods, landslides and river overflows.

AP, Reuters

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