Typhoon Kalmaegi leaves 66 dead, mainly in Philippine province still
recovering from deadly quake
[November 05, 2025]
By JIM GOMEZ
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Typhoon Kalmaegi has left at least 66 people
dead with 26 others missing in the central Philippines, many in
widespread flooding that trapped people on their roofs and swept away
cars in a hard-hit province still recovering from a deadly earthquake,
officials said Wednesday.
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 by Kalmaegi, the military said. It did not give the
cause of the crash.
Kalmaegi blew away from western Palawan province into the South China
Sea before noon Wednesday with sustained winds of up to 130 kph (81 mph)
and gusts of up to 180 kph (112 mph), according to forecasters.
Central province hit hardest by the storm
Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, deputy administrator of the Office of
Civil Defense, and provincial officials said most of the deaths were
reported in the central province of Cebu, which was pummeled by Kalmaegi
on Tuesday, setting off flash floods and causing a river and other
waterways to swell.
The resulting flooding engulfed residential communities, forcing
startled residents to climb on their roofs, where they desperately
pleaded to be rescued as the floodwaters rose, officials said.
The Philippine Red Cross received many calls from people needing rescue
in Cebu from their roofs, its secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang said
Tuesday.
At least 49 drowned in floods and others died as a result of landslides
and falling debris in Cebu, where 13 of the 26 missing were reported,
the Office of Civil Defense said on Wednesday.
“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 by telephone.
Caloy Ramirez, a volunteer rescuer, said the massive flooding set off by
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 projects
The problems may have been made worse by years of quarrying that caused
clogging of nearby rivers, which overflowed, and substandard flood
control projects in Cebu province, Baricuatro said.
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Residents of Isla Verde stand beside a sign which they made to call
for help as they return to their damaged homes after Typhoon
Kalmaegi caused devastation in communities along the Mananga River
in Talisay City, Cebu province, central Philippines, Wednesday, Nov.
5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Hernandez)
A corruption scandal involving substandard or non-existent 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 by the
earthquake were moved to sturdier evacuation shelters from flimsy
tents before the typhoon struck, Baricuatro said. Northern towns
devastated by the earthquake were mostly not hit by floods generated
by Kalmaegi, she added.
Kalmaegi heads toward Vietnam and Thailand
Before 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 by about 20 typhoons and storms each
year. The country also is often hit by 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.
Forecasters estimate the storm will reach Vietnam’s coast Friday
morning.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s weather agency issued an advisory for the
northern, eastern and central parts of the country, warning that
Kalmaegi would bring heavy rain Friday and into the weekend that
could cause flash floods, landslides and river overflows.
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Associated Press journalists Aniruddha Ghosal in Hanoi, Vietnam, and
Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul in Bangkok contributed to this report.
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