Floods Strand People on Roofs as Typhoon Pounds Philippines
Residents sought refuge on rooftops and cars floated through flooded streets on Tuesday as Typhoon Kalmaegi battered the central Philippines, leaving at least two people dead.
Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the powerful storm, which made landfall shortly before midnight, said AFP.
As of 8:00 am (0000 GMT), the typhoon was moving westwards across the islands of Cebu and Negros, with winds of 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour and gusts of 185 kph toppling trees and downing power lines.
“People marooned on rooftops are asking to be rescued,” Cebu information officer Rhon Ramos told AFP by phone, adding that even some evacuation centers had been flooded.
Don del Rosario, 28, was among those in Cebu City who sought refuge on an upper floor as the storm raged.
“The water rose so fast. From what I’ve been told, the flooding started around 3:00 am. By 4:00 am, it was already uncontrollable — people couldn’t get out (of their houses),” he said.
“I’ve been here for 28 years, and this is by far the worst we’ve experienced.”
Hundreds still living in tent cities after a 6.9-magnitude quake rocked the island in late September were also “forcibly evacuated for their own safety”, Ramos said.
Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy administrator at the Office of Civil Defense, told local radio that 387,000 people had been moved from the typhoon’s path, while one man was killed by a falling tree in Bohol province.
