Typhoon Kalmaegi Floods Central Philippines, Leaving 26 Dead

Typhoon Kalmaegi has caused severe flooding in central Philippines, resulting in at least 26 deaths and displacing nearly 400,000 people. Entire towns in Cebu Island are submerged, with residents seeking refuge on rooftops to escape the muddy waters that have swept away vehicles and large shipping containers, as shown in verified videos by AFP.

In Cebu alone, 21 fatalities have been reported, according to Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy administrator of civil defense, who spoke to AFP. The provisional death toll stands at 26, "most due to drowning," he stated.

Provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro described the situation as "truly unprecedented" in a Facebook message, stating, "The floods are simply devastating."

In the 24 hours leading up to Kalmaegi's arrival, the provincial capital region of Cebu City received 183 millimeters of rain, significantly exceeding the monthly average of 131 millimeters, meteorologist Charmagne Varilla informed AFP.

On Mindanao Island, also affected, a military helicopter deployed for a "relief operations support" mission crashed on Tuesday, with the army reporting no survivors at this stage.

Deaths have also been recorded in other provinces, including an elderly person who drowned on the upper floor of their house in Leyte province and a man killed by a falling tree in Bohol.

"The water rose so quickly... By 4 AM, the situation was already uncontrollable; people could no longer leave their homes," recounted Don del Rosario, a 28-year-old resident of Cebu City.

Like many others, he sought refuge in the upper levels of his home as the storm raged on. "I've lived here my whole life, and this is by far the worst disaster we've experienced," he insisted.

Scientists say that human-induced climate change is making extreme weather events more frequent, deadlier, and more destructive.

Hundreds of people living in tents in camps set up after the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that struck the island in late September were also "forcibly evacuated for their own safety," Rhon Ramos, an information officer in Cebu, told AFP.

In total, nearly 400,000 people have been preemptively evacuated from the typhoon's path, Rafaelito Alejandro stated during a press conference on Tuesday.

As of 2 PM (06:00 GMT), the typhoon was moving west across the Visayas archipelago, with winds of 130 km/h and gusts reaching 180 km/h, toppling trees and power lines.

Kalmaegi made landfall in the eastern part of the archipelago just before midnight on Monday (15:00 GMT), hitting the Dinagat Islands province, according to the national meteorological service.

Each year, around twenty storms or typhoons strike or approach the Philippines, with the poorest regions typically bearing the brunt of the impact.

After Kalmaegi, Charmagne Varilla anticipates that "three to five" more storms will hit the Asian nation by the end of the year.

Just before midnight, in Dinagat, buffeted by "heavy rain and violent winds," Miriam Vargas, 34, stood in the dark with her two children as the storm knocked out power. "We are praying while trying to assess the strength of the typhoon," she recounted to AFP on Monday evening.

The Philippines had already been hit in September by Typhoon Ragasa and Storm Bualoi, both of which were deadly.