Four people have died due to Typhoon Kalmaegi, locally known as Tino, which brought torrential rain and powerful winds to the central Philippines today.
The storm made landfall around midnight in Southern Leyte before striking Cebu.
With sustained winds of 140 kilometres per hour and gusts up to 195 kilometres per hour, Kalmaegi caused widespread flooding that left residents stranded on rooftops in Liloan and submerged cars in Mandaue City.
A military helicopter deployed for relief operations crashed in northern Mindanao. Over 160 flights were cancelled, and authorities warned of storm surges up to three meters high.
The typhoon is expected to move across the Visayas region and exit into the South China Sea by Wednesday, as Vietnam braces for possible impact.
The death toll from Typhoon Kalmaegi in the Philippines hit 46 on Tuesday, officials said, including six crew of a military helicopter that crashed during the powerful storm that unleashed heavy rains and floods across the central region.
The Huey helicopter went down in Agusan del Sur on the island of Mindanao, where it was conducting a humanitarian disaster response mission, the military said. Six bodies of the crew were recovered and an investigation was underway.
The Huey helicopter went down in Agusan del Sur on the island of Mindanao, where it was conducting a humanitarian disaster response mission, the military said. Six bodies of the crew were recovered and an investigation was under way.
In the 24 hours before Typhoon Kalmaegi, locally named Tino, made landfall shortly before midnight on Monday, the area around provincial capital Cebu City was deluged with 183 millimetres (seven inches) of rain, well in excess its 131-millimetre monthly average, state weather specialist Charmagne Varilla told AFP.
“The water rose so fast,” Don del Rosario, 28, told the news wire AFP from Cebu City. “By 4:00am, it was already uncontrollable — people couldn’t get out [of their houses].”
“I’ve been here for 28 years, and this is by far the worst we’ve experienced.”
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro called the situation in Cebu “unprecedented”.