Philippines Declares National Calamity as Typhoon Kalmaegi kills 114; Vietnam on Alert

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr declared a state of national calamity on Thursday after Typhoon Kalmaegi claimed at least 114 lives and left 127 missing, marking the deadliest disaster to strike the Philippines in 2025. The powerful storm dumped one-and-a-half months’ worth of rain in just 24 hours on Tuesday, triggering catastrophic flash floods that submerged entire neighbourhoods in central Cebu province and displaced over 560,000 residents. As Kalmaegi barrels toward Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City with high tides threatening severe urban flooding, rescue teams in the Philippines continued digging through mud and debris for survivors amid warnings of another potential super typhoon approaching early next week.

Cebu bore the brunt of the devastation, recording 71 deaths—mostly drownings—and 65 missing after rivers burst their banks and swept away vehicles in metropolitan Cebu and surrounding towns. Heart-wrenching videos showed families clinging to rooftops as floodwaters rose chest-high within minutes, forcing dramatic helicopter and boat rescues. Governor Pamela Baricuatro admitted authorities “did everything we can” but were overwhelmed by unexpected flash floods, exacerbated by years of illegal quarrying that clogged waterways and substandard flood-control projects now at the center of a nationwide corruption scandal.

The declaration unlocks emergency funds, imposes price controls on essential goods, and authorises military deployment for relief operations across two-thirds of the archipelago already reeling from Kalmaegi’s impact on nearly two million people. A Philippine Air Force helicopter crash in Agusan del Sur while ferrying aid claimed six more lives, pushing the toll higher. Cebu, still rebuilding from September’s deadly 6.9-magnitude earthquake, now faces a double catastrophe as 450,000 evacuees crowd emergency shelters with limited food and medicine.

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In Vietnam, meteorologists warned Ho Chi Minh City of up to 100 mm of rain coinciding with peak high tides on the Saigon River, potentially inundating low-lying districts that house millions. Authorities began evacuating vulnerable riverside communities and stockpiling sandbags as Kalmaegi—still packing sustained winds of 140 km/h—closes in Thursday evening. With the Philippines averaging 20 typhoons annually and climate scientists linking intensified storms to global warming, Marcos urged international assistance while vowing to hold corrupt officials accountable for the preventable failures that turned Kalmaegi into a nightmare for the nation’s central heartland.

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