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Nha Trang, Vietnam — Typhoon Kalmaegi barreled into Vietnam on Thursday after killing more than 140 people in the Philippines, making landfall north of Gia Lai province in central Vietnam and lashing the region with fierce winds and torrential rain.
The storm hit as the central provinces were already reeling from days of flooding caused by record-breaking rainfall that already claimed 47 lives. Forecasters warned that Kalmaegi could dump more than 24 inches of additional rain in some areas, raising fears of deadly landslides and flash floods.
Power outages were reported in several provinces, while trees were uprooted and roofs torn off homes. Authorities also warned of flooding risks in major cities, including Danang and Ho Chi Minh City.
Kalmaegi killed at least 142 people and left another 127 missing after unleashing devastating flooding across the central Philippines before heading to Vietnam, official figures showed Thursday.
The typhoon is so far the world's deadliest of 2025, according to disaster database EM-DAT. Trami, which also hit the Philippines, was last year's third-deadliest typhoon with 191 fatalities.
Floodwaters described as unprecedented rushed through Cebu province's towns and cities this week, sweeping away cars, riverside shanties and even massive shipping containers.
The national civil defense office on Thursday confirmed 114 deaths, though that tally did not include an additional 28 recorded by Cebu provincial authorities. More than 500,000 Filipinos remain displaced.
In Liloan, a town near Cebu City where 35 bodies have been recovered, AFP reporters saw cars piled atop each other by floodwaters and roofs torn off buildings as residents attempted to dig out of the mud.
Christine Aton's sister Michelle, who has a disability, was among Liloan's victims, trapped in her bedroom as the floodwaters rose inside their house.
"We tried to pry open (her bedroom door) with a kitchen knife and a crowbar but it wouldn't budge. ... Then the refrigerator started to float," Aton, 29, said.
"I opened a window and my father and I swam out. We were crying because we wanted to save my older sister. But my father told me we couldn't do anything for her, that all three of us might end up dead."
Chyros Roa, a 42-year-old father of two, said his family was saved by his dog's barking when water rushed into their home in the early hours, giving them just enough time to reach their roof.
"The current was really strong. We tried to call for rescue, but no one came. We were told the rescuers were swept away by the current," he said.
On Thursday, President Ferdinand Marcos declared a "state of national calamity," a move allowing the government to release funding for aid and impose price ceilings on basic necessities.
"Unfortunately, there's another (typhoon) coming with the potential to become an even stronger one," Marcos said at an afternoon press briefing.
Still more than 930 miles to the country's east, tropical storm Fung-wong is slowly building strength as it heads toward the Philippines' main island of Luzon. It could reach super typhoon status before it makes landfall on Monday.
State weather service meteorologist Benison Estareja told AFP the rains along Kalmaegi's path were 1.5 times the amount that would typically fall in Cebu for a full November, saying it was something that happened "once every 20 years."
The "highly urbanized" nature of the most-affected communities around Cebu City had made it even deadlier, he added.
"Around four or five in the morning, the water was so strong that you couldn't even step outside," said Reynaldo Vergara, 53, adding that everything in his small shop in Mandaue had been lost when a nearby river overflowed. "Nothing like this has ever happened. The water was raging."
In a radio interview, provincial governor Pamela Baricuatro called the situation "unprecedented."
Scientists warn that storms are . Warmer oceans allow typhoons to strengthen rapidly, and a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, meaning heavier rainfall.
Vietnam, which gets about a dozen typhoons and storms a year, has been pummeled by a relentless series this year, leaving little time to recover between disasters.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha urged local authorities to treat Kalmaegi as "urgent and dangerous," calling it "a very abnormal" storm in a statement Wednesday.
Authorities ordered thousands to evacuate from coastal communities, and in Quy Nhon city, an AFP reporter saw officials knocking on doors Thursday and warning people to flee before the landfall.
Kalmaegi is the 13th typhoon or tropical storm of 2025 to affect Vietnam. The Philippines has already reached its average of 20 such storms with Kalmaegi, state weather specialist Charmagne Varilla told AFP, adding at least "three to five more" storms could be expected by December's end.
