Central Vietnam is grappling with the aftermath of severe weather as Kalmaegi, which had initially brought widespread destruction, transitioned into a tropical storm before moving into Cambodia. The storm left a trail of damage, including wrecked buildings, toppled electricity poles, and uprooted trees across the region.

Tragically, the storm’s impact was deadly, with Vietnamese state media confirming two fatalities in the provinces of Gia Lai and Dak Lak. The extent of the devastation highlights the vulnerability of these areas to such powerful natural events.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, the situation remains tense as President Ferdinand Marcos Junior has declared a state of national emergency. This decision comes in anticipation of another formidable typhoon expected to strike the country’s western coast between Sunday night and Monday morning, posing significant risks to communities still reeling from recent disasters.

Kalmaegi’s earlier onslaught in the Philippines resulted in a staggering toll, with at least 188 people losing their lives and 135 others missing, marking it as the deadliest natural disaster of the year, according to the Office of Civil Defence.

As Kalmaegi continues its journey, it is forecasted to traverse through Laos and reach northeastern Thailand by the afternoon, prompting further concerns over potential impacts in these regions.

Thailand’s Meteorological Department advised people in the region to be cautious of heavy to very heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flood or river overflows.

Vietnam evacuates hundreds of thousands of people

A search operation was launched but later suspended due to worsening weather, state media said.

Authorities said more than 537,000 people were evacuated, many by boat, as floodwaters rose and landslides loomed.

Vietnam’s central provinces were already reeling from floods due to record-breaking rains.

Kalmaegi is forecast to dump more than 609mm of rain in some areas.

An unusually strong storm for the region in November, Kalmaegi packed sustained winds of about 183km/h with gusts reaching up to 220km/h over the South China Sea as it approached Vietnam.

Waves up to three metres high hit the coast in coastal cities like Danang, and strong winds uprooted trees in Dak Lak province.

Many homes in Quy Nhon, also a coastal city, were left without power for hours.

The country’s financial hub, Ho Chi Minh City, faced a heightened risk of severe floods.

High tides were expected on the Saigon River, and authorities warned up to 100 millimetres of expected rainfall could inundate low-lying areas.

Philippines braces for next powerful storm

Meanwhile, the next approaching storm, Fung-wong, was growing as it barrelled toward the Philippines over the Pacific.

State forecasters said Fung-wong, known as Uwan in the Philippines, could grow to a massive estimated 1400-kilometre diameter before it makes a landfall in northern Aurora province or nearby regions.

They warn that it could hit the densely populated area around the capital, Manila.

Typhoon Kalmaegi displaced more than 560,000 villagers in the Philippines, including nearly 450,000 who were evacuated to emergency shelters, the Office of Civil Defence said.

More than 318,000 others are still in evacuation shelters.

Marcos was scheduled to visit Cebu on Friday, the hardest-hit central province, where the typhoon left 139 dead with 79 others missing.

“We suffered many deaths… it was very grave,” Marcos said on Thursday of Kalmaegi’s deadly aftermath, but he said “the biggest problem that we’re seeing is, we have to think who and how many of the personnel now handling government relief and support in the central Visayas region can be shifted to prepare for Uwan.”

In Cebu, rampaging floodwaters submerged or swept away scores of vehicles in scenes that were caught on camera by residents stranded on roofs.

One of the mourners was Krizza Espra, who went to a mortuary on Thursday to see the bodies of her husband and three children, who were killed when the roof they were sheltering on collapsed.

She said four others in her family, including her mother and aunt, remain missing.

“I hope someone can help speed up the search for their bodies before (they) decompose, we hope we can still recognise them,” she said.

Marcos’s “state of national calamity” declaration allows the government to disburse emergency funds faster and prevent food hoarding and overpricing.

The Philippines experiences about 20 typhoons and storms each year.

The country also is often hit by earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

Vietnam, which gets about a dozen typhoons and storms a year, has been pummeled by a relentless series this year, leaving little time to recover between disasters.

Typhoon Ragasa dumped torrential rain in late September, then Typhoon Bualoi slammed the central coast and Typhoon Matmo resulted in flooding in the north.

Together, the three storms left more than 85 people dead or missing in two weeks, and caused an estimated $1.36 billion in damage.

Vietnam is among the world’s most flood-prone countries, with nearly half its population living in high-risk areas.

Scientists warn that a warming climate is intensifying storms and rainfall across Southeast Asia, making floods like this year’s increasingly destructive and frequent.