The death toll from Typhoon Kalmaegi in the Philippines has risen to 40, officials said on Tuesday, as the storm continued to unleash heavy rain and floods across central region.
According to Reuters, though Kalmaegi, locally known as Tino, has weakened since making landfall early on Tuesday, it continued to lash the country with winds of 130 kph (81mph) and gusts of 180 kph (112mph) as it swept across the Visayas islands headed for northern Palawan and towards the South China Sea.
Provincial information officer Ainjeliz Orong said the number of people died due to the typhoon climbed to 40 by late Tuesday. One person was reported dead on the nearby island of Bohol, according to the disaster agency.
Orong further said that rescue operations were
underway.
“Search and rescue efforts continue and there are missing and unaccounted individuals,” he said, adding the deaths were due to drowning and falling debris.
Reuters quoted authorities as saying that tens of thousands of residents were evacuated across the Visayas region, including parts of southern Luzon and northern Mindanao.
The typhoon will likely leave the Philippines on Wednesday or early Thursday.
Meanwhile, the flood in Cebu City subsided late on Tuesday but power was still out in many places and telecommunications services were intermittent.
In Liloan town, homes were submerged, with only rooftops and top floors visible.
Due to the storm, over 180 flights to and from the affected areas were cancelled.
PAGASA had earlier warned of a high risk of “life-threatening and damaging storm surges” that could reach more than 3 meters (9.84 ft) high along coastal and low-lying communities in the central Philippines, including parts of Mindanao, CNN reported.
Meanwhile, the Vietnamese government on Tuesday said it was preparing for the worst-case scenario as it braced for the impact of Kalmaegi.
The typhoon is predicted to make landfall on Thursday night in Vietnam’s central regions. “This is a very strong typhoon, which continues to strengthen after entering the East Sea,” the government said in a statement, referring to the South China Sea.
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