Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared a national state of emergency after Typhoon Kalmaegi devastated central provinces, leaving at least 140 people dead and hundreds missing in what officials are calling the country’s deadliest natural disaster of the year.
According to local authorities, around 127 individuals remain unaccounted for, many of them from Cebu — one of the hardest-hit provinces in the central Philippines. The storm brought torrential rains, widespread flooding, and landslides that destroyed homes, roads, and communication networks across several regions.
During an emergency meeting with disaster response officials, President Marcos announced the declaration of a “state of national calamity,” enabling the government to accelerate the release of emergency funds and impose measures against food hoarding and price gouging in affected areas.
“The scale of the devastation demands swift and coordinated action,” Marcos said, emphasizing the importance of ensuring aid reaches remote communities cut off by the storm.
The state of emergency also allows local governments to use calamity funds more flexibly and to coordinate with international humanitarian partners for relief operations.
Typhoon Kalmaegi exited the Philippine archipelago on Wednesday and moved into the South China Sea, but the damage left behind has been catastrophic. Thousands of residents have been displaced, with evacuation centers overflowing and many communities still awaiting rescue teams due to blocked roads and downed power lines.
Disaster response agencies warned that another tropical system currently forming over the Pacific could intensify into a super typhoon and potentially strike the northern Philippines early next week.
Meteorologists have noted that Kalmaegi is part of an unusually active typhoon season, exacerbated by warmer ocean temperatures linked to climate change. The Philippines, located along the Pacific “typhoon belt,” experiences about 20 tropical storms annually, but Kalmaegi ranks among the most destructive in recent years.
Officials are urging residents in vulnerable areas to remain alert as the country braces for the possibility of yet another major storm.