Typhoon Leaves Over 85 Dead and wide Damage Across the Philippines

Highlights

At least 85 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced as one of the strongest typhoons of the time smashed into the central Philippines, officers said.

Typhoon Kalmaegi, known locally as Typhoon Tino, left entire towns underwater on the country’s most populous central island of Cebu, with at least 49 of the confirmed Philippines typhoon deaths in that province alone. Authorities also said another 75 people were missing and 17 people were injured as of Wednesday.

Videos posted from affected areas show residers sheltering on rooftops as buses , dispatching holders and other debris were swept along in fast- moving floodwaters.

The death risk also includes six military copter crew members who were on a relief charge in a remote area of Mindanao islet when their aircraft went down. The Philippine Air Force said the copter was one of four transferred to help communities across the archipelago after communication with it suddenly ended, forcing it to launch an storm casualties Philippine operation.

The air force latterly verified that six bodies it believed to be the airman and crew members had been recovered in Agusan del Sur.

Typhoon desolation Philippine has weakened since making landfall on the islet of Cebu beforehand on Tuesday, but it still packed winds of further than 80 mph( 130 km/ h) as it ploughed across the Visayas region on its way to the South China Sea.

Cebu province is among the areas of the country that has been hit the hardest, with more than 400,000 people forced to flee their homes and communities, according to the country’s natural disaster Philippines agency.

Jel-an Moira Servas was among those affected in Mandaue City. She told the BBC that the water rose to her waist in just minutes.

Servas and her family were able to flee with a few items, such as food and small electronics, but said their home was inundated with mud. “The rain has stopped and the sun is out, but our houses are covered with mud and all the inside is ruined,” she told the BBC. “We don’t even know where to start cleaning up. I can’t even look at it without crying.”