Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr declared a state of emergency on Thursday after Typhoon Kalmaegi killed at least 140 people and left another 127 missing in central provinces in the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country this year, as the storm headed towards Vietnam.
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Marcos’ emergency declaration, made during a meeting with disaster-response officials to assess the typhoon’s aftermath, would allow the government to disburse emergency funds faster and prevent food hoarding and overpricing.
Floodwaters described as unprecedented rushed through Cebu province’s towns and cities this week, sweeping away cars, riverside shanties and even massive shipping containers.
The national civil defence office confirmed on Thursday 114 reported deaths, though that tally did not include an additional 28 recorded by Cebu provincial authorities.
In Liloan, a town near Cebu City, where 35 bodies have been recovered from flooded areas, cars still piled atop each other by floodwaters and roofs torn off buildings as residents attempted to dig out of the mud.
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