The death toll from Typhoon Kalmaegi in the Philippines has risen to 40, officials said yesterday, as the powerful storm unleashed heavy rains and floods across the central region, submerging homes and forcing thousands to evacuate.
Although Kalmaegi, locally named Tino, has weakened since making landfall early yesterday, it continued to lash the country with winds of 130kmph and gusts of 180kmph as it swept across the Visayas islands headed for northern Palawan and towards the South China Sea.
The number of people killed climbed to 40 later in the day, all but one of those in the central province of Cebu, provincial information officer Ainjeliz Orong said. One person was reported dead on the nearby island of Bohol, according to the disaster agency.
Asked why the sudden jump in casualties, Orong said rescue operations were underway and information had just started to come through.
“Search and rescue efforts continue and there are missing and unaccounted individuals,” Orong said in a phone message, adding the deaths were due to drowning and falling debris.
Tens of thousands of residents were evacuated across the Visayas region, including parts of southern Luzon and northern Mindanao, authorities said.
The typhoon was expected to leave the Philippines by early this morning.
Photos and videos from the Philippine Red Cross showed rescue workers wading through knee-deep floodwaters in Cebu City, using boats to reach stranded residents.
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