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During a recent interview with local radio, Alejandro highlighted that the areas most severely affected by the floods were the major urban centers. He noted that these highly urbanized regions bore the brunt of the disaster, with 26 individuals still unaccounted for.
Images and video footage released by the Philippine Red Cross depict rescue teams navigating the flooded streets of Cebu City. Wading through water that reached up to their knees, these workers were seen employing boats to rescue residents trapped by the rising waters.
The tropical storm Kalmaegi, referred to locally as Tino, has been weakening since it made landfall on Tuesday morning. However, it continued to unleash powerful winds reaching 120 km/h, with gusts up to 165 km/h, as it moved across the Visayas islands towards northern Palawan and the South China Sea.
As a precautionary measure, authorities evacuated nearly 400,000 people in anticipation of the typhoon’s path, ensuring their safety ahead of the storm’s arrival.
In total, nearly 400,000 people were pre-emptively moved from the typhoon’s path.
‘The waters kept rising’
“When the waters rose, we went to our second floor. Yet, the waters kept rising, so we decided to head up to our roof.”
State weather agency PAGASA had earlier warned of a high risk of “life-threatening and damaging storm surges” that could reach more than 3 metres high on coastal and low-lying communities in the central Philippines.
