Floodwaters described as unprecedented rush through Cebu province sweeping away cars and massive objects
\n manila
\nThe death toll from Typhoon Kalmaegi in the Philippines climbed past 90 on Wednesday as the devastating impact on hard-hit Cebu province became clearer after the worst flooding in recent memory.
\nFloodwaters described as unprecedented had rushed through the province\u2019s towns and cities a day earlier, sweeping away cars, riverside shanties and even massive shipping containers.
\nOn Wednesday, Cebu spokesperson Rhon Ramos told AFP that 35 bodies had been recovered from flooded areas of Liloan, a town that is part of provincial capital Cebu City\u2019s metro area.
\nThe grim news brought the toll for Cebu to 76. Earlier in the day, national civil defence deputy administrator Rafaelito Alejandro confirmed at least 17 deaths in other provinces.
\n\u201cIt was the major cities that got hit (with floods), highly urbanised areas,\u201d Alejandro said in an interview with local radio, adding that 26 people remained missing.
\nAFP reporters on Wednesday morning spoke with residents as they cleaned up streets that a day before had been rivers.
\n\u201cThe flood here yesterday was really severe,\u201d Reynaldo Vergara, 53, told AFP, adding that everything in his small shop had been washed away.
\n\u201cThe river overflowed. That\u2019s where the water came from,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cAround four or five in the morning, the water was so strong that you couldn\u2019t even step outside … nothing like this has ever happened. The water was raging.\u201d
\nIn the 24 hours before Kalmaegi\u2019s landfall, the area around Cebu City was deluged with 183 millimetres (seven inches) of rain, well over its 131-millimetre monthly average, weather specialist Charmagne Varilla told AFP.
\nOn Tuesday, provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro called the situation \u201cunprecedented\u201d.
\n\u201cWe were expecting the winds to be the dangerous part, but… the water is what\u2019s truly putting our people at risk,\u201d she told reporters. \u201cThe floodwaters are just devastating.\u201d
\nScientists warn that storms are becoming more powerful due to human-driven climate change. Warmer oceans allow typhoons to strengthen rapidly, and a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, meaning heavier rainfall.
\nIn total, nearly 400,000 people were pre-emptively moved from the typhoon\u2019s path.
\nMilitary helicopter crash
\nThe Philippine military confirmed on Tuesday that a helicopter, one of four deployed to assist typhoon relief efforts, had crashed on northern Mindanao island.
\nThe Super Huey helicopter went down while en route to the coastal city of Butuan \u201cin support of relief operations\u201d related to the powerful storm, Eastern Mindanao Command said in a statement.
\nHours later, air force spokeswoman Colonel Maria Christina Basco said the remains of six people had been recovered by troops.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re waiting to confirm the identities via forensics in order to ascertain their identities,\u201d she told reporters, saying two pilots and four crew members were on board.
\nAs of 11:00am Wednesday, Kalmaegi was moving westwards towards the tourist hotspots of Palawan, with winds of 130 kilometres (81 miles) per hour and gusts of 180kph.
\nThe Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, routinely striking disaster-prone areas where millions live in poverty.
\nWith Kalmaegi, the archipelagic country has already reached that average, weather specialist Varilla told AFP, adding at least \u201cthree to five more\u201d storms could be expected by December\u2019s end.
\nThe Philippines was hit by two major storms in September, including Super Typhoon Ragasa, which tore the roofs off buildings on its way to killing 14 people in nearby Taiwan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Floodwaters described as unprecedented rush through Cebu province sweeping away cars and massive objects manila The death toll from Typhoon Kalmaegi in the Philippines climbed past 90 on Wednesday as the devastating impact on hard-hit Cebu province became clearer after the worst flooding in recent memory. Floodwaters described as unprecedented had rushed through the province\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":512860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-512823","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n