Manila [Philippines], November 5 (ANI): At least 66 people have been killed due to Typhoon Kalmaegi, locally known as Typhoon Tino, which swept through central Philippines, local media reported on Wednesday.
At 8 a.m. local time, the typhoon made its eighth landfall in El Nido on Palawan Island and continues to move into the West Philippine Sea, or the South China Sea, according to PAGASA, the country’s weather bureau.
It is expected to re-intensify over the sea and could reach its peak strength within the next 12 hours, official media outlet PNA reported Wednesday morning.
In its 11 a.m. bulletin, PAGASA noted that the eye of Typhoon Tino was located about 190 km west of Coron, Palawan. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 130 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 180 km/h, moving west-northwestward at 20 km/h, the agency said.
The country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that 49 of the fatalities were from Cebu, most of them due to fallen debris, landslides, and flooding caused by heavy rains. The NDRRMC also said 13 people remain missing in Cebu and another 13 in La Castella, Negros Occidental.
The death toll also includes six crew members of a military helicopter that crashed Tuesday on Mindanao Island after being deployed for relief operations.
The Philippine Air Force said the Super Huey helicopter was being flown by two pilots and four aircrew members when it went down in Agusan del Sur on Tuesday afternoon.
Tino, the country’s 20th cyclone this year, battered large parts of the Visayas and some areas in Mindanao and Southern Luzon, causing widespread destruction, PNA reported.
The typhoon has affected about 706,000 people, with around 348,000 seeking shelter in evacuation centers, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.
Heavy rains, severe winds, and possible storm surges are expected over Palawan and nearby areas, with low-lying and coastal communities facing high risk of life-threatening surges exceeding three meters within the next 24 hours.
The typhoon is expected to leave the Philippine area of responsibility late Wednesday or early Thursday and is forecast to move toward Vietnam.
Vietnam has requested that neighboring countries facilitate Vietnamese vessels seeking shelter and repairs. Six coastal provinces have issued directives to monitor the storm, expedite flood recovery, alert fishing vessels, and operate reservoirs safely to protect downstream communities, according to VNA.
Super Typhoon Ragasa, known locally as Nando, struck the Philippines in late September, followed by Typhoon Bualoi, known locally as Opong. The Cebu area had also witnessed devastation just over a month ago when a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck on October 30. (ANI)
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