Philippine Death Toll Tops 140 as Typhoon Heads Towards Vietnam

AFP/APP

Liloan, Philippines: Typhoon Kalmaegi has killed at least 140 people and left another 127 missing after unleashing devastating floods across the central Philippines, official figures showed Thursday, as the storm continued its march toward Vietnam.

Floodwaters described as unprecedented swept through Cebu province’s towns and cities this week, carrying away cars, riverside shanties, and even massive shipping containers.

The national civil defence office confirmed 114 deaths, excluding an additional 28 fatalities reported by Cebu provincial authorities.

In Liloan, a town near Cebu City where 35 bodies have been recovered, AFP reporters witnessed cars piled atop one another and roofs torn off buildings as residents struggled to dig through the mud.

Christine Aton’s sister, Michelle — who had a disability — was among Liloan’s victims, trapped in her bedroom as the floodwaters rose inside their home.

“We tried to pry open her door with a kitchen knife and a crowbar but it wouldn’t budge,” said Aton, 29. “Then the refrigerator started to float. I opened a window, and my father and I swam out. We were crying because we wanted to save my sister, but my father told me we couldn’t — all three of us might end up dead.”

On neighboring Negros Island, where at least 30 people were killed, Kalmaegi’s relentless rain loosened volcanic mudflows that buried homes in Canlaon City, according to police Lieutenant Stephen Polinar.

“Eruptions of Kanlaon volcano since last year deposited volcanic material on its upper slopes. When the rain fell, those deposits rumbled down onto the villages,” he told AFP.

The national death toll also includes six crew members of a military helicopter that crashed while on a typhoon relief mission.

‘The Water Was Raging’

On Wednesday, residents of Cebu’s hardest-hit areas began cleaning streets that had been rivers less than a day earlier.

“Around four or five in the morning, the water was so strong you couldn’t even step outside,” said Reynaldo Vergara, 53, whose small shop in Mandaue was destroyed when a nearby river overflowed. “Nothing like this has ever happened. The water was raging.”

In nearby Talisay, where an informal settlement along a riverbank was washed away, 26-year-old Regie Mallorca was already rebuilding his home.

“This will take time because I don’t have the money yet. It will take months,” he said while mixing cement atop the rubble.

According to weather specialist Charmagne Varilla, the area around Cebu City was drenched with 18.3 centimeters (7 inches) of rain in the 24 hours before Kalmaegi’s landfall — far exceeding the 13.1 cm monthly average.

Provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro described the situation as “unprecedented and devastating.”

Scientists warn that storms are becoming more powerful due to human-driven climate change. Warmer oceans allow typhoons to intensify rapidly, and a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, resulting in heavier rainfall.

In total, nearly 800,000 people were moved from the storm’s path.

‘Urgent and Dangerous’

Kalmaegi continued to strengthen on Thursday as it approached Vietnam, where fears mounted that the storm could worsen the impact of a week of flooding that has already claimed 47 lives.

As of 8 a.m., the typhoon was packing winds of 155 km/h (96 mph) and gusts up to 190 km/h. It is forecast to make landfall in central Vietnam late Thursday, bringing waves as high as eight meters (26 feet) and powerful storm surges, according to the national weather bureau.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha urged authorities to treat Kalmaegi as “urgent and dangerous,” calling it “a very abnormal storm.”

Vietnam usually faces about 10 typhoons or tropical storms each year, but Kalmaegi is the 13th in 2025.

The Philippines has already reached its average of 20 storms per year, and according to Varilla, “three to five more” could strike before the year ends.