Philippines Declares Emergency As Typhoon Kalmaegi Leaves At Least 240 Dead Or Missing
Typhoon Kalmaegi has regained dangerous strength as it accelerates towards Vietnam’s central coastline, just days after leaving a trail of devastation across the Philippines, where at least 241 people have lost their lives or remain missing
According to meteorologists, the storm known locally in Vietnam as Tinohas strengthened significantly while travelling across the South China Sea. The United States military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued an alert at 10am local time (03:00 GMT) on Thursday, stating that Kalmaegi is “barrelling towards the Vietnamese coast and reaching peak intensity”.
The storm has now been upgraded to a Category 4 typhoon , and JTWC forecasts it will “slam into the Vietnamese coast” just north of Quy Nhon city in central Vietnam.
Kalmaegi earlier made landfall in eight central provinces of the Philippines on Tuesday, marking the country’s deadliest natural disaster this year. In Cebu the hardest-hit region heartbreaking scenes are emerging: flattened homes, overturned vehicles, and roads buried beneath heavy debris.
More than 200,000 evacuated residents have begun returning to their communities, only to find widespread destruction awaiting them. Cleanup operations are underway as emergency teams struggle to clear thick mud and large obstacles from residential areas.
“The challenge now is debris clearing,” said senior civil defence official Raffy Alejandro in a radio interview with DZBB. He stressed that clearing operations are crucial to locate missing persons and allow relief support to reach survivors.
Following high-level disaster assessments, President Marcos called the situation a “national calamity”. He stated that declaring a nationwide emergency would enable faster access to emergency funds and help prevent price gouging of essential supplies.
However, the threat is far from over. Another major storm Typhoon Fung-wong, locally named Uwan is rapidly forming and could be “even stronger”, warned President Marcos. PAGASA predicts it may escalate into a super typhoon by Saturday as it approaches Luzon, home to the capital Manila.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has launched large-scale preparations as Kalmaegi approaches. Around 350,000 residents in Gia Lai province are being evacuated, with thousands of military personnel mobilised to support rescue and disaster management efforts.
Authorities caution that torrential rains, flash floods, landslides and damaging winds could severely impact agricultural production, particularly the ongoing coffee harvest vital to Vietnam’s economy. Aviation officials have also confirmed that flight operations at eight airports, including Da Nang International Airport, may face severe disruptions.
As central Vietnam braces for impact, the region prepares for yet another test of resilience against one of the strongest storms of the year.
According to meteorologists, the storm known locally in Vietnam as Tinohas strengthened significantly while travelling across the South China Sea. The United States military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued an alert at 10am local time (03:00 GMT) on Thursday, stating that Kalmaegi is “barrelling towards the Vietnamese coast and reaching peak intensity”.
The storm has now been upgraded to a Category 4 typhoon , and JTWC forecasts it will “slam into the Vietnamese coast” just north of Quy Nhon city in central Vietnam.
Kalmaegi earlier made landfall in eight central provinces of the Philippines on Tuesday, marking the country’s deadliest natural disaster this year. In Cebu the hardest-hit region heartbreaking scenes are emerging: flattened homes, overturned vehicles, and roads buried beneath heavy debris.
More than 200,000 evacuated residents have begun returning to their communities, only to find widespread destruction awaiting them. Cleanup operations are underway as emergency teams struggle to clear thick mud and large obstacles from residential areas.
“The challenge now is debris clearing,” said senior civil defence official Raffy Alejandro in a radio interview with DZBB. He stressed that clearing operations are crucial to locate missing persons and allow relief support to reach survivors.
Following high-level disaster assessments, President Marcos called the situation a “national calamity”. He stated that declaring a nationwide emergency would enable faster access to emergency funds and help prevent price gouging of essential supplies.
However, the threat is far from over. Another major storm Typhoon Fung-wong, locally named Uwan is rapidly forming and could be “even stronger”, warned President Marcos. PAGASA predicts it may escalate into a super typhoon by Saturday as it approaches Luzon, home to the capital Manila.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has launched large-scale preparations as Kalmaegi approaches. Around 350,000 residents in Gia Lai province are being evacuated, with thousands of military personnel mobilised to support rescue and disaster management efforts.
Authorities caution that torrential rains, flash floods, landslides and damaging winds could severely impact agricultural production, particularly the ongoing coffee harvest vital to Vietnam’s economy. Aviation officials have also confirmed that flight operations at eight airports, including Da Nang International Airport, may face severe disruptions.
As central Vietnam braces for impact, the region prepares for yet another test of resilience against one of the strongest storms of the year.
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