At least 66 people have been confirmed dead following the onslaught of Typhoon Kalmaegi in the Philippines, as residents of the worst-hit province, Cebu, grapple with the widespread destruction left in its wake, homes flattened, streets littered with debris, and countless lives shattered.
In Talisay City, survivors rummaged through what remained of their homes, searching for anything salvageable.
Among them was 38-year-old Eilene Oken, who wandered through the wreckage of her once lively neighborhood, only to find nothing left standing.
“We worked and saved for this for years, then in an instant, it was all gone,” she said, her voice breaking. But Oken said she remains grateful because her family, including her two daughters, were unharmed.
Across Cebu, a popular tourist destination, scenes of devastation emerged as floodwaters began to recede, revealing collapsed houses, overturned cars, and piles of wreckage.
Among the casualties were six military personnel who died when their helicopter crashed in Agusan del Sur, Mindanao, during a humanitarian operation.
The national disaster agency also reported 26 people missing and 10 others injured.
The catastrophe struck barely a month after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked northern Cebu, killing dozens and displacing thousands.
Kalmaegi, locally known as Tino, was the 20th tropical storm to hit the Philippines this year.
Although it weakened after making landfall early Tuesday, the state weather bureau PAGASA warned that the typhoon could regain strength as it travels across the South China Sea toward Vietnam, where authorities have begun preparations ahead of its expected landfall on Friday.
More than 200,000 residents were evacuated across the Visayas region, including parts of southern Luzon and northern Mindanao, as the storm brought severe flooding, power outages, and massive displacement.
In Cebu City, floodwaters had subsided by late Tuesday, but large areas remained without power and communication lines were still unstable, according to a Reuters journalist on the ground.
Images and videos shared by the Philippine Red Cross showed rescuers wading through knee-deep waters and using boats to reach stranded families.
In Liloan town, just north of Cebu City, homes were submerged, with only rooftops and upper floors visible.
Similar scenes were reported across other districts of Cebu, where vehicles were submerged and streets turned into rivers, as viral clips on social media revealed.
PAGASA attributed the torrential rains and gusty winds to the combined effects of Kalmaegi and a shear line, which drenched the Visayas and nearby regions.
More than 180 flights were canceled on Tuesday, and maritime authorities urged vessels to remain in port amid warnings of life-threatening storm surges reaching up to three meters (9.84 feet) in coastal and low-lying areas of the central Philippines and parts of Mindanao.
Meanwhile, Vietnam said it was bracing for the impact of Kalmaegi and preparing for a worst-case scenario, after enduring floods that already claimed 40 lives and left six missing over the past week.
“This is a very strong typhoon, which continues to strengthen after entering the East Sea,” the Vietnamese government said in a statement, referring to the South China Sea.
The Philippines, which faces an average of 20 tropical cyclones annually, continues to recover from a string of recent disasters, from deadly earthquakes to severe storms, each leaving deep scars on communities still struggling to rebuild.
