The Philippines has already reached its average of 20 such storms a year with Kalmaegi, weather specialist Varilla told AFP, adding at least "three to five more" storms could be expected by December's end.
This week, floodwaters surged through the towns and cities of Cebu province, sweeping away vehicles, riverside shanties, and even large shipping containers. Typhoon Kalmaegi has claimed the lives of at least 140 individuals and left another 127 unaccounted for after causing catastrophic flooding across the central Philippines, according to official reports released on Thursday, as the storm moved towards Vietnam.
The floodwaters, described as unprecedented, rushed through Cebu province's towns and cities this week, sweeping away cars, riverside shanties, and even massive shipping containers.
On Thursday, the national civil defense office confirmed 114 reported fatalities, although this figure did not include an additional 28 deaths recorded by Cebu provincial authorities.
In Liloan, a town close to Cebu City where 35 bodies have been recovered from inundated areas, AFP reporters observed cars still stacked on top of one another by the floodwaters and roofs torn off buildings as residents worked to dig themselves out of the mud.
Christine Aton's sister Michelle, who has a disability, was among the victims in Liloan, trapped in her bedroom as the floodwaters surged into their home. "We attempted to force open (her bedroom door) with a kitchen knife and a crowbar, but it wouldn't move.... Then the refrigerator began to float," Aton, 29, recounted.
"I opened a window, and my father and I swam out. We were in tears because we wanted to save my older sister.
"But my father told me we couldn't do anything for her, that all three of us might end up dead."
On the nearby Negros Island, where at least 30 people lost their lives, Kalmaegi's torrential rain triggered volcanic mudflows that buried homes in Canlaon City, police Lieutenant Stephen Polinar informed AFP on Wednesday. "Eruptions of Kanlaon volcano since last year deposited volcanic material on its upper sections. When the rain fell, those deposits rumbled down onto the villages," he explained to AFP.
The national death toll included six crew members of a military helicopter that crashed while conducting a typhoon relief mission.
On Wednesday, residents in the areas of Cebu that were most affected were actively engaged in cleaning streets that had transformed into rivers less than 24 hours prior.
"Around four or five in the morning, the water was so powerful that stepping outside was impossible," stated Reynaldo Vergara, 53, who noted that everything in his small shop in Mandaue was lost when a nearby river overflowed.
"Nothing like this has ever occurred. The water was furious." In the nearby area of Talisay, where an informal settlement along the riverbank was swept away, AFP encountered 26-year-old Regie Mallorca already working on rebuilding his home.
"This will require time because I currently lack the funds. It will take months," he mentioned while mixing cement and sand on top of the debris. The region surrounding Cebu City experienced a deluge of 18.3 centimeters (approximately seven inches) of rain in the 24 hours leading up to Kalmaegi's landfall, significantly exceeding its monthly average of 13.1 centimeters, as reported by weather specialist Charmagne Varilla to AFP.
On Tuesday, provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro described the situation as "unprecedented" and "devastating."
Scientists caution that storms are intensifying due to climate change driven by human activity. Warmer oceans enable typhoons to rapidly gain strength, and a warmer atmosphere retains more moisture, resulting in heavier rainfall. In total, nearly 800,000 individuals were evacuated from the path of the typhoon.
Kalmaegi was gaining strength on Thursday as it moved towards neighboring Vietnam, where concerns were rising that the typhoon could exacerbate the damage from a week of flooding that has already resulted in 47 fatalities. As of 8 am, the storm had wind speeds of 155 kilometers (96 miles) per hour and gusts reaching up to 190 kph.
The typhoon is predicted to make landfall in central Vietnam late Thursday, bringing waves as high as eight meters (26 feet) and powerful storm surges, according to the national weather bureau.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha urged local authorities to regard Kalmaegi as "urgent and dangerous," labeling it "a very abnormal" storm in a statement on Wednesday.
Typically, Vietnam experiences around ten typhoons or tropical storms each year, either making landfall or remaining offshore. However, Typhoon Kalmaegi is projected to be the 13th storm of 2025.
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