At least 52 dead as typhoon wreaks havoc in the Philippines
The gentle lapping of water has turned into a terrifying roar across the central Philippines. What began as the fierce winds of Typhoon Kalmaegi has transformed into a disaster of mud and flood, claiming at least 52 lives and forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes.
In its wake, the storm has left a landscape of heartbreaking loss and surreal destruction. Cars float like toys down what were once busy streets. Shipping containers, heavy and industrial, are tossed about as if they were mere cardboard boxes. And on rooftops across the most populated island of Cebu, families huddle, waiting for a rescue that cannot come soon enough.
The storm, known locally as Tino, made landfall early Tuesday with terrifying force. While it has since weakened, its legacy is one of unprecedented flooding that caught both officials and residents by complete surprise.
“The situation in Cebu is really unprecedented,” said Provincial Governor Pamela Baricuatro in a desperate online post. “We were expecting the winds to be the dangerous part, but the water is what’s truly putting our people at risk. The floodwaters are just devastating.”
Her words paint a picture of a crisis that changed its nature in an instant. The real danger was not the sky falling, but the ground disappearing under a torrent of muddy water. Governor Baricuatro has declared a state of calamity for Cebu, a necessary step to unlock emergency funds and speed up disaster relief.
For those who lived through it, the experience was terrifying. Don del Rosario, a 28-year-old resident of Cebu City, found shelter on an upper floor of a building as the world he knew vanished under the rising water.
“I’ve been here for 28 years, and this is by far the worst we’ve experienced,” he told the AFP news agency, his voice likely echoing the sentiment of an entire community.
The human cost is staggering. Most of the deaths reported were due to drowning, as powerful torrents of water swept down hillsides and into towns, catching people unaware. Rescue teams have been navigating the flooded streets in boats, desperately working to free people trapped inside their own homes.
Tragedy was compounded by further tragedy when a military helicopter, sent to help with relief efforts, crashed on Mindanao island south of the worst-hit areas. The Philippine Air Force lost communication with the aircraft, and a later, somber statement confirmed that six bodies had been recovered believed to be the pilot and crew. Their deaths are a stark reminder of the dangers faced by those rushing to help.
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In total, nearly 400,000 people were evacuated from the path of the typhoon, a massive effort that undoubtedly saved countless lives. But for a nation still reeling, it is another brutal blow.
The Philippines is struck by an average of 20 storms and typhoons every year, a familiar yet dreadful rhythm of nature. But this latest disaster comes barely a month after back-to-back typhoons killed over a dozen people and wrecked infrastructure and farms. Before that, an extraordinarily wet monsoon season caused widespread flooding, leading to public anger over unfinished and poorly built flood control systems.
Just weeks ago, on September 30, a powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the same central region, with Cebu once again bearing the brunt of the damage. The people here have had no time to recover, no time to breathe.
As the Philippines begins the long, painful process of counting its dead and rebuilding its shattered towns, the storm moves on. Typhoon Kalmaegi is now forecast to head towards Vietnam, a country already struggling with record-breaking rainfall. The hope now is that the world will watch, and help, as a nation fights its way back to the surface.
Author: Azhar Mehmood
Date: 05 Nov, 2025
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