Typhoon Kalmaegi left a trail of destruction across Southeast Asia this week, killing nearly 200 people in the Philippines before slamming into central Vietnam, where officials reported further damage and casualties.
Vietnam’s disaster management agency said on Friday that at least five people were killed and seven others injured after the storm made landfall late Thursday. Around 2,800 homes were damaged and roughly 1.3 million people were left without electricity as strong winds and torrential rain battered coastal provinces. The typhoon uprooted trees, tore roofs from houses, and disrupted transport and power lines across multiple regions.
Authorities warned that heavy rainfall of up to 200 millimeters could continue in central provinces from Thanh Hoa to Quang Tri, raising the risk of flash floods and landslides. Rising river levels across the region, particularly from Hue to Dak Lak, were being closely monitored. The state-run Vietnam News Agency reported that parts of the railway network in Quang Ngai had been damaged, while images shared online showed flooded streets, toppled trees, and debris scattered across towns.
The government said more than 268,000 soldiers had been mobilized for search and rescue operations. Officials expressed concern that the storm could cause further flooding in the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s key coffee-growing region, threatening agricultural production and transport links.
In the Philippines, which bore the brunt of the storm earlier in the week, authorities confirmed at least 188 deaths, making Kalmaegi one of the deadliest storms to hit the country in recent years. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was expected to visit affected provinces on Friday to oversee relief operations. Officials said 135 people were still missing, while 96 others were injured.
The storm unleashed powerful winds and flash floods across several Philippine islands, destroying homes and infrastructure. Thousands of residents have been displaced, and emergency services continue to struggle to reach remote areas where roads and bridges remain impassable.
Kalmaegi is the 13th typhoon to form in the South China Sea this year. Both Vietnam and the Philippines are among the most vulnerable nations to tropical cyclones due to their positions along the Pacific typhoon belt. Each year, dozens of storms strike the region, bringing widespread flooding, landslides, and economic losses that run into billions of dollars.
Meanwhile, weather authorities in the Philippines have placed the entire civil aviation network on alert as another storm, Typhoon Fung-wong, is forecast to strengthen into a super typhoon. It is expected to make landfall in northern parts of the country late Sunday or early Monday.
As rescue efforts continue, officials in both Vietnam and the Philippines have urged residents in at-risk areas to remain vigilant. With the typhoon season still ongoing, the focus now turns to relief and rebuilding efforts as the region braces for more extreme weather in the weeks ahead.
