Typhoon Kalmaegi wreaks havoc in central Philippines; 114 dead, 127 missing

Philippine officials on Wednesday said the death toll from widespread flooding and devastation caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi in the countrys central region has risen to at least 114 with 127 others reported missing many of them in a hardhit province still recovering from a deadly earthquakeBernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defence said most of the deaths were reported in the central province of Cebu which was pummelled by Kalmaegi on Tuesday setting off flash floods and causing a river and other waterways to overflowKalmaegi moved away from western Palawan province into the South China Sea before noon Wednesday and was barrelling toward Vietnam according to forecastersAmong the dead were six people who were killed when a Philippine air force helicopter crashed in the southern province of Agusan del Sur on Tuesday The crew was on its way to provide humanitarian help to provinces battered by Kalmaegi the military said It did not give the cause of the crashCentral province hit hardest by stormProvincial officials said Kalmaegi set off flash floods and caused a river and other waterways to swell The resulting flooding engulfed residential communities forcing startled residents to climb on their roofs where they desperately pleaded to be rescued as the floodwaters rose officials saidThe Philippine Red Cross received many calls from people needing rescue in Cebu from their roofs its secretarygeneral Gwendolyn Pang said on Tuesday At least 49 drowned in floods and others died as a result of landslides and falling debris in Cebu where 13 people were reported missing the Office of Civil Defence saidIt added that 62 others were reported missing in the central provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental which are located near CebuWe did everything we could for the typhoon but you know there are really some unexpected things like flash floods Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro told The Associated Press by telephoneCaloy Ramirez a volunteer rescuer said the massive flooding set off by the typhoon turned an upscale riverside residential community in Cebu city on Tuesday into an unrecognisable scene of tumbled SUVs and houses in disarrayResidents said floodwater engulfed the first floors of their houses in just a few minutes sending them scrambling to upper floors or roofs in panicWe always expect the worst and what I saw yesterday was the worst Ramirez told The AP He described how the faces of desperate residents would light up when they realised they were being rescuedConcerns grow over flood control projectsThe problems may have been made worse by years of quarrying that caused clogging of nearby rivers which overflowed and substandard flood control projects in Cebu province Baricuatro said A corruption scandal involving substandard or nonexistent flood control projects across the Philippines has sparked public outrage and street protests in recent monthsCebu a bustling province of more than 24 million people declared a state of calamity to allow authorities to disburse emergency funds more rapidly Cebu was still recovering from a 69 magnitude earthquake on September 30 that left at least 79 people dead and displaced thousands when houses collapsed or were severely damagedThousands of northern Cebu residents who were displaced by the earthquake were moved to sturdier evacuation shelters from flimsy tents before the typhoon struck Baricuatro said Northern towns devastated by the earthquake were mostly not hit by floods generated by Kalmaegi she addedKalmaegi heads toward Vietnam and ThailandBefore Kalmaegis landfall officials said more than 387000 people had evacuated to safer ground in eastern and central Philippine provincesFerries and fishing boats were prohibited from venturing out to increasingly rough seas stranding more than 3500 passengers and cargo truck drivers in nearly 100 seaports the coast guard said At least 186 domestic flights were cancelledThe Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year The country also is often hit by earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes making it one of the worlds most disasterprone countriesCentral Vietnam still reeling from days of record rain that triggered flash floods and landslides was bracing for more pounding rain as Kalmaegi nearsFishing boats returned to shore while local authorities readied evacuation plans secured shelters and stockpiled food state media reportedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever