Typhoon Kalmaegi Floods Central Philippines, Killing 5 and Forcing Mass Evacuations

Overview

• At least five people were confirmed dead after Kalmaegi swept through Cebu and nearby provinces, with villages inundated and residents stranded.
• Roughly 156,000 people were moved from coastal areas in preventive evacuations ahead of landfall in the Dinagat Islands, officials said.
• Emergency teams carried out rooftop rescues in Cebu as floodwaters rose rapidly, and some evacuation centers were themselves inundated.
• Kalmaegi carried sustained winds near 150 km/h with gusts up to 185 km/h, toppling trees and power lines and causing widespread outages.
• State meteorologists reported the country has hit its average of about 20 storms this year and projected three to five additional systems, with scientists linking rising storm intensity to human-driven climate change.