Vietnam assesses storm damage as Kalmaegi leaves 188 dead in Philippines

Typhoon Kalmaegi tore through Southeast Asia this week, killing at least 188 people in the Philippines before striking Vietnam’s central coast, where powerful gusts ripped roofs from homes, toppled trees, and left streets flooded and thousands without power.

Authorities warned of further heavy rain of up to 200 millimetres (8 inches) from Thanh Hoa to Quang Tri provinces. While no official casualty figures have been released, state media reported one fatality in Dak Lak province after a house collapsed.

Images circulating online showed submerged homes, damaged roofs, and debris scattered across streets. The government said more than 268,000 soldiers had been mobilised for search-and-rescue efforts and cautioned that flooding in low-lying areas could threaten agriculture in the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s main coffee-growing region.

In the Philippines, officials confirmed 188 deaths, 135 people missing, and 96 injured following Kalmaegi’s deadly passage earlier in the week. The storm’s strong winds and torrential rain devastated communities across the central provinces.

Kalmaegi is the 13th typhoon to form in the South China Sea this year. Vietnam and the Philippines remain among the world’s most exposed countries to tropical storms due to their position along the Pacific typhoon belt.

The Philippines’ civil aviation regulator has placed all area centres and airport operations under heightened alert as another typhoon is expected to affect parts of the country this weekend.

 

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