Philippines declares state of emergency after typhoon Kalmaegi death toll passes 100 | Philippines
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of emergency after typhoon Kalmaegi, the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country this year, killed at least 114 people in the central provinces and left about 130 missing.
Most of the deaths resulted from drowning in the flash flood, and 127 people were still missing, mostly in the flood-hit central province of Cebu. The tropical cyclone blasted through the archipelago into the South China Sea on Wednesday.
The civil defense agency said the typhoon’s onslaught affected nearly 2 million people and displaced more than 560,000 villagers, including about 450,000 who were evacuated to emergency shelters.
The “national state of disaster” declaration, which Marcos made Thursday during a meeting with disaster response officials to assess the typhoon’s consequences, will allow the government to distribute emergency funds more quickly and prevent food hoarding and overpricing.
Disaster response officials have warned that another tropical cyclone from the Pacific could intensify into a super typhoon and hit the northern Philippines early next week, as they still deal with the deadly and catastrophic impact of Kalmaegi in the country’s central region.
The deaths attributed by authorities to Kalmaegi included six people killed when a Philippine air force helicopter crashed in the southern province of Agusan del Sur on Tuesday. The army said the crew set out to provide humanitarian aid to provinces hit by the typhoon. The cause of the accident was not specified.
Kalmaegi caused flash floods and caused a river and other waterways to swell in Cebu province. The resulting flooding engulfed communities, forcing residents to climb onto their roofs, desperately begging to be rescued as floodwaters rose, state officials said.
The civil defense agency reported at least 71 people died, 65 were missing and 69 were injured in Cebu, mostly from drowning.
Another 62 people were reported missing in the central province of Negros Occidental, located near Cebu.
“We did everything we could for the typhoon, but you know, really unexpected things happen, like flash floods,” Cebu governor Pamela Baricuatro said by phone.
Baricuatro said the problems may have been worsened by quarrying and substandard flood control projects in Cebu province, which have clogged nearby rivers that have been overflowing for years.
A corruption scandal involving substandard or nonexistent flood control projects across the Philippines has sparked public outrage and street protests in recent months.
Cebu was still recovering from the 6.9-magnitude earthquake on Sept. 30 that killed at least 79 people and displaced thousands, causing homes to collapse or be severely damaged.
Ferries and fishing boats were banned from sailing into increasingly rough seas during the typhoon, leaving more than 3,500 passengers and cargo truck drivers stranded in about 100 ports, the coast guard said. At least 186 domestic flights were cancelled.
The Philippines is hit by about 20 typhoons and storms every year. The country is also subject to frequent earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.
