MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared a state of national emergency after Typhoon Kalmaegi left at least 114 people dead and hundreds missing in what has become the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country this year.
According to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), most of the deaths were caused by flash floods and drowning. At least 127 people remain missing, many of them in the hard-hit province of Cebu. The typhoon exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Wednesday and moved toward the South China Sea.
Nearly 2 million people were affected by Kalmaegi’s onslaught, displacing more than 560,000 residents. Of these, around 450,000 sought refuge in evacuation centers, the OCD said.
President Marcos announced the state of calamity during a briefing with disaster response officials, saying the measure would speed up the release of emergency funds and help prevent food hoarding and price manipulation.
Even as authorities continue rescue and relief operations in the Visayas, officials have warned that another tropical system forming in the Pacific could intensify into a super typhoon and hit northern Luzon early next week.
Among those killed during the storm were six members of the Philippine Air Force who died when their helicopter crashed in Agusan del Sur while en route to deliver humanitarian aid. The military said it was still investigating the cause of the crash.
In Cebu, the storm triggered flash floods and caused rivers to overflow, inundating communities and forcing residents to climb onto rooftops as floodwaters rapidly rose. The OCD reported 71 deaths, mostly by drowning, along with 65 missing and 69 injured in the province.
Another 62 people were reported missing in neighboring Negros Occidental.
“We did everything we could to prepare for the typhoon, but some things, like flash floods, are truly unexpected,” Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro told The Associated Press.
Baricuatro noted that years of quarrying and poorly constructed flood control projects may have worsened the flooding by clogging rivers and waterways.
Public anger has been mounting in recent months over corruption allegations involving substandard or non-existent flood control projects across the country.
Cebu had also been reeling from a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck on September 30, killing at least 79 people and displacing thousands. Many earthquake survivors had been moved from temporary tents to sturdier evacuation centers before the typhoon struck, which helped minimize casualties in northern Cebu.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard said more than 3,500 passengers and cargo truck drivers were stranded at nearly 100 seaports after ferries and fishing vessels were barred from sailing due to rough seas. At least 186 domestic flights were also canceled.
The Philippines experiences around 20 typhoons and storms each year and sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
- Venus L Peñaflor
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- Venus L Peñaflor
