Five dead as Typhoon Kalmaegi slams into Philippines with winds up to 200kmph

Kalmaegi is the 20th tropical cyclone of the year to strike one of the world's most disaster-prone countries, which is frequently battered by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes as well.

Three people were confirmed dead and at least one person was missing in the central province of Cebu, provincial information officer Ainjeliz Orong said. Two more deaths in the province were still being verified. An elderly villager also drowned in floodwaters in Southern Leyte, where a province-wide power outage was reported, while another person was killed by a fallen tree in Bohol province, officials said.

The latest storm dropped a month’s worth of rain in two areas of Visayas, one of the country’s three main island groups, in under 24 hours, according to weather bureau PAGASA.

Maasin city in Southern Leyte and Lapu-Lapu city in Cebu received 235.2mm and 185mm of rainfall, respectively, leading to severe flooding.

The Philippine Red Cross noted that floodwaters in parts of Cebu reached “up to the heads of people”, forcing residents in the town of Liloan to shelter on their roofs.

Dramatic images showed cars piled up as workers struggled to rescue the marooned people from rooftops and damaged houses.

“We’ve received so many calls for rescue, but it is impossible,” Red Cross secretary general Gwendolyn Pang said.

“There’s debris everywhere, cars floating. We have to wait for the flood to subside.”

"The situation in Cebu is really unprecedented," provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro wrote in a Tuesday Facebook post.

"We were expecting the winds to be the dangerous part, but... the water is what's truly putting our people at risk," she said. "The floodwaters are just devastating."

In Eastern Samar, where Kalmaegi first unleashed its fury, raging winds tore the roofs off over 300 homes on Homonhon island, part of Guiuan town, but no casualties were reported.

“We’re OK. We’ve been through a lot, and bigger than this,” mayor Annaliza Gonzales Kwan said, recalling how the area was devastated in 2013 by Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing.

More than 150,000 people had evacuated from coastal and low-lying areas ahead of the storm’s landfall. Officials warned of storm surges up to three metres, destructive winds, and widespread flooding across the central islands.

As Kalmaegi continued to move westward at 25kmph, forecasters said it would exit into the South China Sea by late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

It was likely to make landfall on Thursday night in Vietnam's central regions, where heavy floods have already killed at least 40 people and left six missing over the past week.

Philippine authorities, meanwhile, also warned of possible volcanic mudflows around Mount Kanlaon. The active volcano on the island of Negros has been emitting plumes of ash and steam in recent months, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

“Due to interaction with the terrain, Tino might slightly weaken while crossing Visayas. However, it’s expected to remain at typhoon intensity throughout its passage over the country,” PAGASA said in a morning bulletin.

The storm forced the cancellation of at least 186 flights and left over 3,500 passengers stranded at ports, the coast guard said.

In September, Super Typhoon Ragasa had swept across northern Luzon, bringing fierce winds and torrential rain and forcing the Philippine government to suspend classes and work.