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Agence France-Presse

The death toll from Typhoon Kalmaegi in the Philippines climbed past 100 on Wednesday as the devastating impact on hard-hit Cebu province became clearer after the worst flooding in recent memory.
Floodwaters described as unprecedented had rushed through towns and cities, sweeping away cars, trucks and even massive shipping containers.
On Wednesday, Cebu spokesman Rhon Ramos said that 35 bodies had been recovered from flooded areas of Liloan, a town that is part of the provincial capital Cebu City’s metro area.
The grim news brought the toll for Cebu to 76. Earlier in the day, national civil defence deputy administrator Rafaelito Alejandro confirmed at least 17 deaths in other provinces.
That figure included six crew members of a military helicopter that crashed while on a typhoon relief mission.
“It was the major cities that got hit [with floods], highly urbanised areas,” Alejandro said in an interview with local radio, adding that 26 people remained missing.
On Wednesday morning, residents cleaned up streets that a day before had been rivers.
“The flood here yesterday was really severe,” Reynaldo Vergara, 53, said, adding that everything in his small shop had been washed away.
“The river overflowed. That’s where the water came from,” he said.
“Around four or five in the morning, the water was so strong that you couldn’t even step outside … nothing like this has ever happened. The water was raging.”

In nearby Talisay, where an informal settlement along a riverbank was washed away, 26-year-old Regie Mallorca was working to rebuild his home.
“This will take time because I don’t have the money yet. It will take months,” he said as he mixed cement and sand atop the rubble.
In the 24 hours before Kalmaegi’s landfall, the area around Cebu City was deluged with 183mm (7 inches) of rain, well over its 131mm (5 inches) monthly average, weather specialist Charmagne Varilla said.
On Tuesday, provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro called the situation “unprecedented”.
“We were expecting the winds to be the dangerous part, but … the water is what’s truly putting our people at risk,” she told reporters. “The floodwaters are just devastating.”
Scientists warn that storms are becoming more powerful due to human-driven climate change. Warmer oceans allow typhoons to strengthen rapidly, and a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, meaning heavier rainfall.
In total, nearly 800,000 people were pre-emptively moved from the typhoon’s path.


The catastrophic loss of life in Cebu comes as the public seethes over a scandal involving so-called ghost flood-control projects believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
On Wednesday, governor Baricuatro suggested a connection between the corruption scandal and what her spokesman later called “unusual” flooding in a cluster of subdivisions.
“You begin to ask why we’re having terrible flash floods here when you have 26.6 billion Philippine pesos (US$452 million) for flood control projects [in the national budget],” she said in an interview with local outlet ABS-CBN.
“Definitely we have seen projects here … that I would say are ghost projects,” she said, adding her inspection team had not seen a single structure built to government standards.
A spokesperson at the Department of Public Works and Highways, the government entity at the centre of the scandal, said that department head Vince Dizon was already in Cebu to inspect typhoon damage.
“After his inspection there, maybe he will comment,” they said.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, routinely striking disaster-prone areas where millions live in poverty.
The archipelagic country has already reached that average with Kalmaegi, weather specialist Varilla said, adding at least “three to five more” storms could be expected by the end of the year.
The Philippines was hit by two major storms in September, including Super Typhoon Ragasa, which tore the roofs off buildings on its way to killing 14 people in nearby Taiwan.
By 5pm on Wednesday, Kalmaegi was moving westwards over the South China Sea and towards Vietnam, where authorities have warned it could compound the damage from a week of flooding that has already killed dozens of people.


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The Philippines

Typhoon Kalmaegi devastates Philippines as death toll tops 100

A woman sits on a fallen post amid the damage caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi in Cebu’s Talisay, Philippines, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

A shipping container blocks a road after it was swept away by the floods brought by Typhoon Kalmaegi in Mandaue City, Cebu province, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Residents return to what remains of their homes after Typhoon Kalmaegi caused devastation in Talisay City, Cebu province, on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Is the ‘Big One’ coming? Earthquake mania grips Philippines as fears mount

Locals look for items in a collapsed house in Manay, in the province of Davao Oriental on October 11, after two powerful quakes struck off the southern Philippines on October 10. Photo: AFP

Patients and their family members stay outside a hospital at the earthquake-hit Manay town, Davao Oriental province, southern Philippines, on October 11. Photo: AP

Business establishments that were damaged due to a recent strong earthquake lie at the Bogo city pier, Cebu province, Central Philippines on October 3. Photo: AP

Residents stay outside their homes for fear of aftershocks at earthquake-hit Bogo city, Cebu province, central Philippines on October 3. Photo: AP

Authorities inspect a damaged wall and a car outside a mall in Butuan City, on the southern island of Mindanao on October 10, after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern Philippines. Photo: AFP via Getty Images/TNS

Has Philippines lost world’s trust over flood-control corruption scandal?

Police shield themselves beside a burning container during clashes with anti-corruption protesters in Manila on September 21. Photo: AP

The foreign exchange counter at Oslo Gardermoen Airport that allegedly turned away Filipinos. Photo: Facebook/Gretchen Ho

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla (left) listens to testimony from former public works engineer Henry Alcantara during investigations on flood-control projects at the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on September 23. Photo: AP

Greenpeace activists unfurl a giant receipt showing the Philippine government’s flood control project fund allocations during a demonstration in Manila on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

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Asia

Southeast Asia

Residents pick up the pieces in worst-hit Cebu province as the country braces for a new storm


Residents pick up the pieces in worst-hit Cebu province as the country braces for a new storm.


Natural disasters

Extreme weather

Vietnam

Typhoon Kalmaegi devastates Philippines as death toll tops 100

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Residents pick up the pieces in worst-hit Cebu province as the country braces for a new storm

Residents pick up the pieces in worst-hit Cebu province as the country braces for a new storm