Over 1.5 lakh evacuated as powerful Typhoon Kalmaegi hits Philippines

More than 150,000 people have taken shelter in evacuation centres across the Philippines after powerful Typhoon Kalmaegi made landfall in coastal provinces, AFP reported.

The storm, with wind gusts reaching up to 205 kilometres per hour, first struck the Dinagat Islands in the Visayas region, according to the national weather agency. Thousands of residents were also evacuated from neighbouring Samar island, where waves as high as three metres were forecast, said civil defence official Randy Nicart.

“Some local governments are resorting to forced evacuations,” he added. As of 8pm, nearly 156,000 people had been moved to safety, Office of Civil Defence deputy administrator Rafaelito Alejandro said at a press briefing.

Governor Nilo Demerey of Dinagat Islands said between 10,000 and 15,000 people were preemptively relocated to safer areas, while disaster official Joy Conales noted that residents in Loreto town were told to move to higher ground. The town’s lone dike, roughly one storey tall, was built to protect the centre from high waves.

The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone nations, is struck by about 20 storms and typhoons each year. With Kalmaegi, the country has already reached its annual average, and three to five more storms could still develop by year’s end, state weather specialist Charmaine Varilla told AFP.

Scientists have warned that human-induced climate change is fuelling stronger and more destructive storms. Varilla added that the ongoing La Niña climate pattern, which cools parts of the Pacific Ocean, often coincides with an increase in tropical cyclone activity.

The country endured two major storms in September, including Super Typhoon Ragasa, which caused widespread destruction and killed 14 people in neighbouring Taiwan.