At least 58 people are reported dead in the wake of Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi)as the it barrels west toward Vietnam. Â
Among the casualties, six members of the military lost their lives when a helicopter assigned to a humanitarian mission crashed in the Agusan del Sur province on the island of Mindanao.
The devastation is especially visible in the province of Cebu, a major tourist destination, where floodwaters have begun to recede and reveal the wreckage: destroyed homes, vehicles flipped or piled upon one another, and debris scattered across streets.
Authorities report that 13 people remain missing, as search and rescue efforts continue amid difficult conditions.
The Philippine weather agency PAGASA said that although Kalmaegi weakened slightly after landfall early Tuesday, it is expected to regain strength once it moves over the South China Sea.
More than 200,000 residents across the Visayas region—including certain areas of southern Luzon and northern Mindanao—were evacuated ahead of the storm’s arrival.
At landfall, the typhoon was packing sustained winds of around 120 km/h, with gusts reaching up to 165 km/h. It is the 20th storm of the year to strike the Philippines.
The path ahead for Kalmaegi remains ominous: it is forecast to make landfall in Vietnam by Friday, prompting serious concern among regional disaster authorities.
Adding to the tragedy, this disaster comes just over a month after a magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck northern Cebu, killing dozens and displacing thousands — compounding an already vulnerable situation in the affected areas (with Reuters report)