Philippines declares state of emergency, prepares for potential super typhoon

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines declared a state of emergency on Thursday after Typhoon Kalmaegi left at least 114 people dead and hundreds missing in central provinces in the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country this year.

The deaths were mostly from drowning in flash floods, and 127 people were still missing, many in the hard-hit central province of Cebu. The tropical cyclone blew out of the archipelago on Wednesday into the South China Sea.

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Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, Deputy Administrator of the Office of Civil Defence, said the majority of the fatalities were recorded in Cebu province, which suffered severe flash floods after rivers and waterways overflowed when Kalmaegi made landfall on Tuesday.

The typhoon moved away from western Palawan by late Wednesday morning and continued toward the South China Sea en route to Vietnam, according to weather authorities.

The typhoon’s onslaught affected nearly 2 million people and displaced more than 560,000 villagers, including nearly 450,000 who were evacuated to emergency shelters, the Office of Civil Defence said.

Potential super typhoon

A potential super typhoon is set to hit the country, reaching its peak on Sunday, November 9, less than two months after Super Typhoon Ragasa caused widespread destruction.

According to Filipino media outlets, the typhoon — called Uwan in the Philippines and Fung-wong globally — is still in the 'tropical storm' category as of Thursday, and will intensify into a super typhoon by Saturday.

Khaleej Times Staff

webteam@khaleejtimes.com