Bangkok (EFE).- At least one person has died and more than 75,000 have been evacuated as Typhoon Kalmaegi swept through the central Philippines on Tuesday, causing severe flooding, authorities reported.
The typhoon, known as Tino in the Philippines, made landfall at midnight near the town of Silago in the Eastern Visayas region and was located between Negros Island and Cebu Island in Central Visayas on Tuesday morning.
Kalmaegi, accompanied by torrential rains, is packing sustained winds of 150 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 205kph, according to the latest update from the Philippine Meteorological Agency (Pagasa).
In its preliminary assessment, the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported one death, more than 75,000 people evacuated before the typhoon’s arrival, and nearly 60,000 affected.
In the city of Butuan, in the north of the southern island of Mindanao, thousands of homes are flooded, reports the news website Rappler.
Meanwhile, in the tourist city of Cebu, with nearly 1 million residents, hurricane-force winds have caused trees and power lines to fall.
Airlines Cebu Pacific and AirAsia have reported the cancellation of dozens of flights to and from the affected region.
Throughout the day, Kalmaegi is expected to also hit the Western Visayas region and, in the afternoon, Palawan Island, before moving into the South China Sea and heading towards central Vietnam, where it is forecast to arrive on Friday.
The Philippines experiences about 20 typhoons and tropical storms per year, especially during the rainy season, which usually begins in June and ends in November or December. EFE
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