Philippine death toll exceeds 140

Typhoon heads towards Vietnam

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Typhoon Kalmaegi has killed at least 142 people and left another 127 missing after unleashing devastating flooding across the central Philippines, official figures showed yesterday, as the storm headed towards Vietnam.

The typhoon is so far the globe’s deadliest of 2025, according to disaster database EM-DAT. Trami, also in the Philippines, was last year’s third-deadliest typhoon with 191 fatalities.

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 yesterday confirmed 114 deaths, though that tally did not include an additional 28 recorded by Cebu provincial authorities. More than 500,000 Filipinos remain displaced.

In Liloan, a town near Cebu City where 35 bodies have been recovered, AFP reporters saw cars piled atop each other by floodwaters and roofs torn off buildings as residents attempted to dig out of the mud.

Christine Aton’s sister Michelle, who has a disability, was among Liloan’s victims, trapped in her bedroom as the floodwaters rose inside their house.