Typhoon Kalmaegi leaves 114 dead, 127 missing in Philippines, many in province recovering from quake | World News

Philippine officials said Thursday the death toll from widespread flooding and devastation caused Typhoon Kalmaegi in the country’s central region has risen to at least 114 with 127 people reported missing, many of them in a hard-hit province still recovering from a deadly earthquake.Most of the deaths were reported in the central province of Cebu, which was pummeled Kalmaegi on Tuesday, setting off flash floods and causing a river and other waterways to overflow, said Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, deputy adminrator of the Office of Civil Defense.
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Kalmaegi moved away from western Palawan province into the South China Sea before noon Wednesday and was barreling toward Vietnam, according to forecasters.

Among the dead were six people who were killed when a Philippine air force helicopter crashed in the southern province of Agusan del Sur on Tuesday. The crew was on its way to provide humanitarian help to provinces battered Kalmaegi, the military said. It did not give the cause of the crash.

Central province hit hardest the stormProvincial officials said Kalmaegi set off flash floods and caused a river and other waterways to swell. The resulting flooding engulfed residential communities, forcing residents to climb on their roofs, where they desperately pleaded to be rescued as the floodwaters rose, officials said.

At least 71 people died in Cebu, mostly due to drownings, 65 others were reported missing and 69 injured, the Office of Civil Defense said.

It added that 62 others were reported missing in the central province of Negros Occidental, which is located near Cebu.

“We did everything we can for the typhoon but, you know, there are really some unexpected things like flash floods,” Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro told The Associated Press telephone.

Caloy Ramirez, a volunteer rescuer, said the massive flooding set off the typhoon turned an upscale riverside residential community in Cebu city on Tuesday into an unrecognizable scene of tumbled SUVs and houses in disarray.

Residents said floodwater engulfed the first floors of their houses in just a few minutes, sending them scrambling to upper floors or roofs in panic.

“We always expect the worst and what I saw yesterday was the worst,” Ramirez told The AP. He described how the faces of desperate residents would light up when they realized they were being rescued.

Concerns grow over flood control projectsThe problems may have been made worse years of quarrying that caused clogging of near rivers, which overflowed, and substandard flood control projects in Cebu province, Baricuatro said.

A corruption scandal involving substandard or non-exent flood control projects across the Philippines has sparked public outrage and street protests in recent months.

Cebu, a bustling province of more than 2.4 million people, declared a state of calamity to allow authorities to disburse emergency funds more rapidly.

Cebu was still recovering from a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on Sept. 30 that left at least 79 people dead and displaced thousands when houses collapsed or were severely damaged.

Thousands of northern Cebu residents who were displaced the earthquake were moved to sturdier evacuation shelters from flimsy tents before the typhoon struck, Baricuatro said. Northern towns devastated the earthquake were mostly not hit floods generated Kalmaegi, she added.

Kalmaegi heads toward Vietnam and ThailandBefore Kalmaegi’s landfall, officials said more than 387,000 people had evacuated to safer ground in eastern and central Philippine provinces.

Ferries and fishing boats were prohibited from venturing out to increasingly rough seas, stranding more than 3,500 passengers and cargo truck drivers in nearly 100 seaports, the coast guard said. At least 186 domestic flights were canceled.

The Philippines is battered about 20 typhoons and storms each year. The country also is often hit earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

Central Vietnam, still reeling from days of record rain that triggered flash floods and landslides, was bracing for more pounding rain as Kalmaegi nears.

Fishing boats returned to shore while local authorities readied evacuation plans, secured shelters and stockpiled food, state media reported.