Typhoon Kalmaegi leaves 66 dead, mainly in Philippine province still recovering from deadly quake

MANILA Philippines AP Typhoon Kalmaegi has left at least people dead with others missing in the central Philippines countless in widespread flooding that trapped people on their roofs and swept away scores of cars in a hard-hit province still recovering from a deadly earthquake bureaucrats mentioned Wednesday Among the dead were six people who were killed in a separate occurrence when a Philippine air force helicopter crashed in the southern province of Agusan del Sur on Tuesday while en road to help provide humanitarian help to provinces battered by Kalmaegi the military reported without providing other details including what could have caused the crash Kalmaegi blew away from western Palawan province into the South China Sea before noon on Wednesday with sustained winds of up to kph mph and gusts of up to kph mph according to forecasters Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defense and provincial agents explained majority of the deaths were shared in the central province of Cebu which was pummeled by Kalmaegi on Tuesday setting off flash floods and causing a river and other waterways to swell The resulting flooding engulfed residential communities forcing startled residents to climb up to their roofs where they desperately pleaded to be rescued as the floodwaters rose administrators commented At least mostly drowned in floods and a minimal others died due to landslides and falling debris in Cebu where of the missing were revealed the Office of Civil Defense mentioned on Wednesday The Philippine Red Cross received multiple calls from people needing rescue in Cebu from their roofs its secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang noted Tuesday adding the efforts had to wait until flooding subsided to lessen the risks for urgency personnel We did everything we can for the typhoon but you know there are really various unexpected things like flash floods Cebu Gov Pamela Baricuatro described The Associated Press by telephone U S Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson expressed her condolences about the deaths and destruction following the storm Working with our friends partners allies the United States stands ready to assist she noted in a post on X Torrential rains sparked by the typhoon may have been worsened by years of quarrying that caused heavy siltation of nearby rivers which overflowed and substandard flood control projects in Cebu province Baricuatro revealed A corruption controversy involving substandard or non-existent flood control projects across the Philippines has sparked citizens outrage and street protests in newest months There has to be an examination of the flood control projects here in Cebu and people should be held accountable Baricuatro noted Cebu a bustling province of more than million people declared a state of calamity to allow agents to disburse emergency funds more rapidly to deal with the latest natural calamity Cebu was still recovering from a magnitude earthquake on Sept that left at least 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 disclosed adding that northern towns devastated by the earthquake were mostly not hit by floods generated by Kalmaegi Other typhoon deaths included the drowning in floodwaters of an elderly villager in Southern Leyte province after the typhoon made landfall in one of its eastern towns facing the Pacific Other residents died separately elsewhere after drowning or due to falling trees and debris leaders revealed Before Kalmaegi s landfall executives explained more than people had evacuated to safer ground in eastern and central Philippine provinces Executives had warned of torrential rains potentially destructive winds and storm surges of up to three meters nearly feet Interisland ferries and fishing boats were prohibited from venturing out to increasingly rough seas stranding more than passengers and cargo truck drivers in nearly seaports the coast guard commented At least domestic flights were canceled The Philippines is battered by about typhoons and storms each year The country also is often hit by earthquakes and has more than a dozen working volcanoes making it one of the world s most of disaster-prone countries Central Vietnam still reeling for days of record rain that triggered flash floods and landslides was bracing for more pounding rain as Kalmaegi nears with state media reporting urgency measures to confront both the storm and the flooding expected to follow Along the coast fishing boats are racing back to shore while local agents ready evacuation plans secure shelters and stockpile food Forecasters estimate the storm will reach Vietnam s coast Friday morning Associated Press journalist Aniruddha Ghosal in Hanoi Vietnam contributed to this summary Source