Typhoon leaves more than 60 dead in the Philippines.

Typhoon Kalmaegi left 66 dead in the Philippines, Civil Defense reported on Wednesday (5), while residents began assessing the damage to their businesses and homes, devastated by the flooding.

"The major cities were hit by the floods, the most urbanized areas," the deputy director of Civil Defense, Rafaelito Alejandro, told a local radio station. According to him, 49 deaths occurred on the island of Cebu, the most affected.

Twenty-six people were missing. “The water has receded. Our challenge now is to remove the debris blocking our roads,” said Alejandro.

AFP journalists spoke Wednesday morning with residents who were cleaning the streets, which the day before had resembled rivers. Cars, trucks, and containers were swept away by the muddy water, according to videos verified by the agency.

“The flooding here was very severe yesterday,” said Reynaldo Vergara, 53. “Around 4 or 5 a.m., the water was so strong that you couldn’t get out. There’s never been anything like it,” he described.

In the 24 hours before Kalmaegi made landfall, the area around Cebu City recorded 183 millimeters of rain, well above the monthly average of 131 millimeters, meteorologist Charmagne Varilla told AFP.

“The situation in Cebu is unprecedented,” stated provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro on Facebook. “We expected the winds to be the danger, but (…) it is the water that truly puts our population at risk. The waters are devastating,” she added.

The Philippines faces typhoons and storms every year, particularly in disaster-prone areas where millions live in poverty. Scientists warn that the storms are becoming more frequent and powerful due to climate change.

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