Typhoon Kalmaegi has taken lives of 114, with 127 people still missing as confirmed by the Philippines national disaster agency on Thursday, November 6.
The storm caused catastrophic floods and landslides across the central islands and has now gained strength over the South China Sea as it moves towards a threatened landfall in central Vietnam.
The magnitude of destruction was very vividly seen in the Philippines when the floodwaters subsided and left in their wake crushed houses, upset cars and streets filled with mud and debris.
Cebu, an equally devastated province, bore the brunt of the storm resulting in the death of at least 71 fatalities.
Clearing the debris is the new challenge now, according to Raffy Alejandro, a senior civil defense official, in a radio interview.
“These need to be cleared immediately, not only to account for the missing who may be among the debris... but also to allow relief operations to move forward,” he added.
To the people of Cebu, Kalmaegi (locally referred to as Tino) was a disaster to an area that was yet to pick itself up.
According to Governor Pamela Baricuatro, the flash floods were not predicted, and they hit the communities within minutes.
An upscale riverside community in Cebu city has been changed into a landscape of desolation, and its rescue volunteer Caloy Ramirez recounted how this community had been turned into a recognizable environment.
The typhoon is now moving towards the western side as the Philippines starts the arduous task of recovery. It is predicted that Typhoon Kalmaegi will hit central Vietnam and will cause devastating winds as well as rains, which may lead to a severe flooding in the lowlands.
Vietnam is putting its troops into the field in large groups and is already starting on the mass evacuations with around 350,000 people expected to move to safety in Gia Lai province alone.
The hurricane will affect the major coffee producing areas in the most important harvest period which is causing concerns on the possibility of major agricultural tremor.
Recent days of unprecedented rainfall in the area continue to shake the area with flash floods and landslides.
In a worry development to the storm-already-battered archipelago, Philippine weather forecasters are already monitoring another disturbance in the eastern side of Mindanao. The brewing storm can intensify into a typhoon, and this will lead to the worry of another possible hit early next week.
The Philippines, which is hit by an average 20 storms every year and is situated on the seismically active Pacific ring of fire, is always ranked second in the list of the most prone countries to disasters all over the world.