Typhoon Kalmaegi Leaves Trail of Destruction in Philippines, Claims 85 Lives as Cleanup Begins.
The central Philippines has started cleaning up the mess left by powerful Typhoon Kalmaegi, which brought widespread destruction and a death toll of at least 85 people. The storm's impact was felt across Cebu province, where residents reported "raging" flash floods that destroyed homes, overturned cars, and blocked streets.
The Philippine military reported six deaths among its personnel who were on a humanitarian mission when their helicopter crashed in Agusan del Sur. Seventy-five people are still missing, while 17 others have been injured.
For many residents, including Marlon Enriquez, the experience was nothing short of traumatic. The 58-year-old man from Cebu City was trying to salvage what was left of his family's belongings when a thick layer of mud coated his house after flooding.
"This was the first time that has happened to us," he told Reuters news agency. "I've been living here for almost 16 years, and it was the first time I've experienced flooding like this."
As residents begin to rebuild their damaged homes, concerns are also being raised about the impact of the storm on those still missing. The massive rainfall caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi led to flash floods and a swollen river system that affected over 200,000 people across the wider Visayas region.
According to forecasters, Kalmaegi is expected to gain strength as it moves through the South China Sea before heading towards Vietnam. With preparations already underway in advance of its expected landfall on Friday, international attention has turned to the storm's trajectory and potential impact on neighboring countries.
Meanwhile, China has issued a warning about a "catastrophic wave process" in the South China Sea, with authorities in its southernmost province of Hainan activating emergency response measures.
The central Philippines has started cleaning up the mess left by powerful Typhoon Kalmaegi, which brought widespread destruction and a death toll of at least 85 people. The storm's impact was felt across Cebu province, where residents reported "raging" flash floods that destroyed homes, overturned cars, and blocked streets.
The Philippine military reported six deaths among its personnel who were on a humanitarian mission when their helicopter crashed in Agusan del Sur. Seventy-five people are still missing, while 17 others have been injured.
For many residents, including Marlon Enriquez, the experience was nothing short of traumatic. The 58-year-old man from Cebu City was trying to salvage what was left of his family's belongings when a thick layer of mud coated his house after flooding.
"This was the first time that has happened to us," he told Reuters news agency. "I've been living here for almost 16 years, and it was the first time I've experienced flooding like this."
As residents begin to rebuild their damaged homes, concerns are also being raised about the impact of the storm on those still missing. The massive rainfall caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi led to flash floods and a swollen river system that affected over 200,000 people across the wider Visayas region.
According to forecasters, Kalmaegi is expected to gain strength as it moves through the South China Sea before heading towards Vietnam. With preparations already underway in advance of its expected landfall on Friday, international attention has turned to the storm's trajectory and potential impact on neighboring countries.
Meanwhile, China has issued a warning about a "catastrophic wave process" in the South China Sea, with authorities in its southernmost province of Hainan activating emergency response measures.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around how devastating Typhoon Kalmaegi was for the Philippines 
. 85 lives lost is just heartbreaking 
. Those flash floods are something else - I can only imagine being in a situation where that's happening at your doorstep 
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. That must've been a really tough experience for him. And the fact that 75 people are still missing is just keeping everyone on edge 
. The South China Sea has always been prone to typhoons, but it's amazing how these storms can have such a ripple effect 
. Wishing everyone affected by the storm all the best during this tough time 
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... the thought of those 75 people still missing is just so scary 
and now china's got a warning out too... like what even is this catastrophic wave process? 
I'm still trying to wrap my head around how these social media platforms don't have better features for live updates on natural disasters like this... can't we get a "breaking news" section that automatically pushes notifications to our feeds when something major happens? 
It's so frustrating having to manually search for updates on Typhoon Kalmaegi. And why do they always make you create an account or log in just to access the latest news? 
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like what if you're at home with your fam and suddenly the flood just appears out of nowhere?!?! it gives me chills just thinking about it 
i hope they get help soon and rebuild their homes ASAP 
another devastating natural disaster hitting the Philippines... it's like they're getting hit by Mother Nature every other year 
it's like they're trying to clean up a disaster movie set 
. My thoughts are with the people of Cebu province, the Philippines, and those affected by the storm's massive rainfall and flash floods 
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. But for real though, 85 lives lost? That's just heartbreaking 
. The storm might've passed, but the damage is still gonna take time to heal 
. anyway, i think it's crazy that typhoon kalmaegi had such a huge impact on the philippines and china is already warning about a "catastrophic wave process" in the south china sea 
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. Like, I know it's not easy to predict when a typhoon will hit, but still, shouldn't we be better at this by now? 
I've seen some crazy stuff in my time, like when I tried to fix my own leaky pipe using just some WD40 and a rubber band 
. It didn't work out so well, let me tell you... 
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. We should all be sending love and positive vibes their way