The Philippines is reeling from the impact of Typhoon Kalmaegi, which has claimed at least 66 lives and left 26 others missing across the central region, authorities confirmed. The storm triggered widespread flooding, submerging neighborhoods and forcing residents to seek refuge on their rooftops as torrents swept through the province of Cebu, still struggling to recover from a deadly earthquake just weeks earlier.

A Philippine Air Force helicopter also went down in the southern province of Agusan del Sur on Tuesday while on a humanitarian mission to assist storm-affected areas, killing six personnel. The military has yet to determine the cause of the crash.

🚨Philippines helicopter crash:

A #Philippines Air Force Super Huey crashed near Loreto, Agusan del Sur

Flying from Davao City to Butuan City on a Typhoon Kalmaegi (Tino) relief mission

All 6 crew members died#physicalasia #피노키오가누구야 #レコメン #ซอโซ่ล่ามธีร์ #IRLARM pic.twitter.com/Me5P3jJdUN

— Rapid Reveal (@rapid_reveal) November 4, 2025

Kalmaegi moved away from the Philippines’ western Palawan province and into the South China Sea by midday Wednesday, carrying winds reaching 130 kph and gusts up to 180 kph, according to the national weather bureau.

Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, Deputy Administrator of the Office of Civil Defense, said that "most of the deaths were reported in the central province of Cebu," where flash floods and overflowing waterways inundated entire communities. "The resulting flooding engulfed residential communities, forcing residents to climb up to their roofs, where they desperately pleaded to be rescued," he added.

🇵🇭🌀 #Typhoon #Kalmaegi has triggered widespread flooding in #Cebu province, the #Philippines, resulting in at least five fatalities and one missing person on Tuesday. More than 100,000 people across the province have been evacuated and relocated.
🇵🇭🌀 “海鸥”导致 #菲律宾 #宿务省… pic.twitter.com/URVTDFMexB

— CCTV Asia Pacific (@CCTVAsiaPacific) November 4, 2025

Philippine Red Cross Secretary-General Gwendolyn Pang said on Tuesday that the organization had received numerous calls for help from people stranded on rooftops. She noted that "rescue efforts had to wait until flooding subsided to lessen the risks for emergency personnel."

Cebu declares calamity

Cebu, a province of more than 2.4 million residents, has declared a state of calamity, enabling authorities to release emergency funds for relief and recovery efforts. Many of its residents were already displaced by the September 30 earthquake that killed at least 79 people and destroyed homes. Hundreds of survivors from northern Cebu were relocated from temporary tents to sturdier shelters before the typhoon struck, disaster officials said.

Additional fatalities were recorded in Southern Leyte and Bohol provinces, where an elderly man drowned in floodwaters and another person was struck by a falling tree, local authorities reported.

Coast Guard teams raced through floodwaters in Cebu to rescue residents trapped by Typhoon Kalmaegi, which unleashed more than two feet of rain and left at least 26 people dead across the Philippines. pic.twitter.com/2Pqiz2g5qw

— AccuWeather (@accuweather) November 4, 2025

Ahead of Kalmaegi’s landfall, more than 387,000 people had been evacuated from vulnerable areas in the eastern and central Philippines. Officials had issued warnings about heavy rainfall, powerful winds, and possible storm surges reaching three meters high. The coast guard grounded ferries and fishing boats amid rough seas, leaving over 3,500 passengers and cargo drivers stranded in nearly 100 ports. At least 186 domestic flights were also canceled.

The Philippines, located in the Pacific "Ring of Fire," experiences around 20 typhoons annually, along with frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, conditions that make it one of the world’s most disaster-prone nations.

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