Typhoon Kalmaegi killed more than 50 people in the Philippines, most in flooding that swept through towns in central provinces, officials said on Wednesday, just over a month after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake killed nearly 80 people.
Why It Matters
The Philippines is one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries. It is hit by about 20 typhoons a year and is also on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, meaning it is regularly struck by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
What To Know
Most of the deaths were reported in the central province of Cebu, which Kalmaegi hit on Tuesday after roaring in from the Pacific, bringing torrential rains, powerful winds and extensive flooding, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Video clips posted on social media showed cars being hurtled down inundated streets and people wading chest deep through murky floodwaters. Political leaders and many social media users raised questions about the effectiveness of flood preparations.
“What happened to the flood control projects?” Cebu provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro asked in a Facebook post.
“We have seen substandard projects,” Baricuatro later told the ANC news outlet.
Baricuatro, who has been in office for just over 100 days, said the responsibility for poor or even non-existent flood-control projects that had been promised falls with the previous administration.
She declined to elaborate, saying: “We’ve submitted the report and we’ll allow the investigative body to reveal the details.”
In recent years, authorities in the Philippines have resorted to mass evacuations to get people out of vulnerable areas and save lives as storms approach. This week, the government moved 175,000 people to shelters, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a statement.
Among the dead were six military personnel who were killed when their helicopter crashed during a relief mission on Tuesday in the southern island of Mindanao, the military said earlier.
Hundreds of flights were canceled and ferries and fishing boats remained in port as the storm crossed the archipelago.
Early Wednesday, the storm was battering the north of Palawan island, in the western Philippines in the South China Sea, as it shifted west toward Vietnam, where authorities were making preparations for the storm’s arrival.
The 6.9 earthquake on September 30 struck Cebu particularly hard. Cebu is also one the country’s main tourist centers.
What People Are Saying
Baricuatro, on Facebook: “We continue to do everything we can. Search and rescue operations are ongoing, relief packs are being distributed…More assistance will arrive tomorrow as additional supplies and teams are deployed.”
What Happens Next
The storm is expected to make landfall in central Vietnam late Thursday.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.