Philippines declares state of emergency as Typhoon Kalmaegi leaves hundreds dead or missing

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of emergency on Thursday after Typhoon Kalmaegi left at least 140 people dead in central provinces, with fears the death toll may rise, in what is the biggest natural disaster to hit the country this year.

Local officials said around 127 individuals were still missing, many of them in the severely affected central province of Cebu.

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

The state of emergency declaration also came as the tropical cyclone moved into the South China Sea after leaving the archipelago on Wednesday.

And while still dealing with the deadly and disastrous impact of Kalmaegi, disaster-response officials warned another tropical cyclone from the Pacific could strengthen into a super typhoon and batter the northern Philippines early next week.

Nearly 2 million people affected

According to the Office of Civil Defence, nearly 2 million people were impacted by the typhoon Kalmaegi's onslaught, and more than 560,000 villagers were displaced, including some 450,000 who were evacuated to emergency shelters.

Among the dead were six people who were killed when a Philippine air force helicopter crashed in the southern province of Agusan del Sur on Tuesday.

An emergency crew was on its way to provide humanitarian help to provinces battered by the typhoon, the military said. It did not give the cause of the crash.

Deadly impact felt in province recently struck by quake

Meanwhile, at least 71 people were killed in Cebu province, mostly due to drownings, while 65 others were reported missing and 69 were injured, according to the Office of Civil Defence.

Flash floods caused by the typhoon caused rivers and other waterways to swell in Cebu, a province recently impacted by a deadly earthquake.

The resulting flooding engulfed residential communities, forcing residents to climb on their roofs, where they desperately pleaded to be rescued as the floodwaters rose, provincial officials said.

Some 62 others were reported missing in the central province of Negros Occidental, which is located near Cebu.

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

The problems may have been made worse by years of quarrying that caused clogging of nearby rivers, which overflowed, and substandard flood control projects in Cebu province, Baricuatro explained.

Cebu was still recovering from a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on 30 September that left at least 79 people dead and displaced thousands when houses collapsed or were severely damaged.

Authorities in the province said thousands of northern Cebu residents displaced by the earthquake were moved to sturdier evacuation shelters from flimsy tents before the typhoon struck.

About 20 typhoons and storms hit the Philippines every year, a country that is among the most disaster-prone in the world due to its frequent experiences with earthquakes and volcanoes.