It started as another storm warning — and ended in catastrophe.
At least 85 people have been killed as Typhoon Kalmaegi tore through the central Philippines.
Hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes, leaving entire towns under water.
Cebu, the country’s most populated central island, took the hardest hit — 49 lives lost, 75 still missing, and streets turned into rivers.
Videos show residents clinging to rooftops while shipping containers floated past like toys.
“Almost all the rivers overflowed,” said 19-year-old volunteer rescuer Carlos Jose Lañas. “Even emergency responders didn’t expect this.”
Unprecedented Flooding Crisis
The storm — known locally as Typhoon Tino — also claimed six military crew members after their helicopter crashed on a rescue mission.
Despite weakening, Kalmaegi continues to unleash 80mph (130km/h) winds as it drifts toward Vietnam.
Business owner Jel-an Moira Servas described her home in Mandaue city as “filled with mud and broken furniture.”
Her voice broke as she said, “I don’t even know where to start cleaning.”
Officials call the flooding “unprecedented.” Cebu’s governor Pamela Baricuatro admitted, “We expected the winds to be dangerous.”
“But it’s the water that’s destroying lives.”
The Philippines endures around 20 typhoons a year — but each one hits harder when lessons from the last are left buried in the mud.
