Residents in the central part of the Philippines began cleaning mud from avenues and buildings on Wednesday that survived Typhoon “Kalmaegi,” which claimed the lives of at least 85 people and left many missing. In the hardest-hit area of Cebu province, an important tourist hub, scenes of destruction emerged as floodwaters receded, revealing the extent of the damage: homes turned to rubble, overturned vehicles, roads littered with debris, and lives upended. In Cebu City, 58-year-old Marlon Enriquez was trying to salvage what was left of his family’s belongings, scraping thick layers of mud from his home. “This was the first time this has happened to us. I’ve lived here for about 16 years, and this was the first time I had experienced a flood of this kind,” he said. However, not everyone had a structure to return to.
One of the citizens returns to what remains of his dwelling after Typhoon Calmaegi ravaged riverside settlements along the Mananga River in Cebu, central Philippines, on Wednesday. Jacqueline Hernandez/AP In the neighboring town of Talisay, 38-year-old Eileen Oken walked through what used to be her neighborhood and saw that her home was completely destroyed. “We worked and saved for this for years, and then in an instant, it was all gone,” she said in a trembling voice. But Oken noted that she remains grateful because her family, including her two daughters, was unharmed. Among the 85 victims were six soldiers whose helicopter crashed in Agusan del Sur on the island of Mindanao during a rescue operation. The emergency service recorded 75 missing persons and 17 injured.
Damaged vehicles after Typhoon Calmaegi in Talamban, Cebu, on Wednesday. Jem St. Rosa/AFP/Getty Images The destruction from Calmaegi, which locals call Tino, occurred just over a month after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in northern Cebu, which killed dozens of citizens and forced thousands to leave their homes. The storm flooded buildings and caused extensive flooding and power outages. Over 200,000 citizens were evacuated from dangerous areas across the Visayas region, including parts of southern Luzon and northern Mindanao.
Residents return to the ruins of their homes, which were washed away by a flood caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi in Talisay, Cebu, on Wednesday. Eloise Lopez/Reuters “Kalmaegi,” the 20th typhoon to hit the Philippines, is expected to intensify over the South China Sea. It is headed towards Vietnam, where preparations are underway for the typhoon’s expected landfall on Friday. China warned of a “destructive wave phenomenon” in the South China Sea and activated emergency measures for maritime incident response in its southernmost province of Hainan, state television CCTV reported. The report did not specify which coastal areas or parts of the sea would be affected, but China claims a number of islands in the vast waters, including the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos, which it claims are administered by the authorities of Hainan province. In September, Super Typhoon Ragas swept through the northern part of the Philippines, forcing schools and government offices to suspend operations as it brought fierce winds and torrential rainfall.
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