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the storm will last At least 66 people have died and many more are missing in the central region. philippinesin most People trapped on their rooftops due to widespread flooding Most affected in the province of Cebu.
According to reports, Civil Defense Deputy Administrator Rafaelito Alejandro, in an interview with local radio outlet DZMM, said that there were 49 deaths due to the earthquake in Cebu.
“It was the major cities that were affected (with flood), highly urbanized area,” Mr. Alejandro said, confirming the death toll, according to Barrons.
Kalmegi was last seen in coastal waters off the western island province of Linapakan early Wednesday Palawan With sustained winds of 120 km per hour (75 mph) and gusts up to 150 km per hour (93 mph). It was forecast to blow into the South China Sea later on Wednesday.
A Philippine Air Force helicopter flying to help provide humanitarian aid to Kalmaagi-hit provinces crashed in the southern province of Agusan del Sur on Tuesday, killing six people, the military said, without giving other details.
Civil Defense Office Deputy Administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV and provincial officials said most of the deaths occurred in the central province of Cebu, where Kalmegi made landfall on Tuesday, causing flash floods and overflowing rivers and other waterways.
Officials said the resulting flooding engulfed residential communities, forcing shocked residents to climb onto their rooftops, where they desperately pleaded to be rescued.
The Philippine Red Cross received numerous calls from people needing rescue from their rooftops, its secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang said Tuesday, adding that rescue efforts had to wait until the floods subsided to reduce the risk to emergency personnel.
Cebu, a bustling province of more than 2.4 million people, declared a state of disaster to allow authorities to quickly distribute emergency funds to deal with the latest natural disaster.
Cebu was still recovering from a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck on September 30, killing at least 79 people and displacing thousands, when homes collapsed or were seriously damaged.
Disaster-response officials said hundreds of northern Cebu residents displaced by the earthquake had been moved from weak tents to stronger evacuation shelters before the storm made landfall.
Other deaths from the storm were recorded in southern Leyte province, where an elderly villager drowned in flood waters after the storm caused a landslide in one of its eastern towns. CalmAnother resident died after being hit by a fallen tree in central Bohol province, officials said.
Before Kalamegi made landfall, officials said more than 387,000 people had been evacuated to safe locations in eastern and central Philippine provinces. Authorities had warned of torrential rain, potentially damaging winds and storm surges of up to three meters (about 10 feet).
Interisland ferries and fishing boats have been banned from sailing in the rough seas, stranding more than 3,500 passengers and cargo truck drivers in about 100 ports, the coast guard said. At least 186 domestic flights were cancelled.
The Philippines is hit by about 20 typhoons and storms every year. The country experiences frequent earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.
