Typhoon Kalmaegi Kills Five in Vietnam After Leaving Trail of Destruction in the Philippines

Typhoon Kalmaegi has killed at least five people in Vietnam and left 1.6 million households without power after severe winds and rains caused widespread damage. The storm earlier devastated the Philippines, where 188 people died and over 135 remain missing. Cleanup continues as another typhoon, Fung-wong, threatens the region.

At least five people have died in central Vietnam after Typhoon Kalmaegi battered the country with torrential rain and powerful winds, officials said on Friday. Three fatalities were recorded in Dak Lak province and two in Gia Lai, while three others were reported missing in Quang Ngai province, according to state media.

The storm uprooted trees, downed power lines, and left around 1.6 million households without electricity. It also destroyed dozens of homes and severely damaged or ripped the roofs off more than 2,600 others. Authorities warned of continued heavy rainfall, forecasting up to 200 millimeters in central regions, where rising rivers have triggered fears of floods and landslides.

Before Kalmaegi’s arrival, Vietnam had already been struggling with flash floods caused by record-breaking rains. The typhoon, which earlier devastated the Philippines before moving west across the South China Sea, weakened to a tropical depression on Friday morning and has since moved into Laos and Cambodia.

In the Philippines, cleanup and rescue efforts continued in central areas where Kalmaegi made landfall on Tuesday. The Office of Civil Defense confirmed at least 188 deaths, with 135 people still missing. Nearly half a million people were displaced, and around 318,000 remained in evacuation centers by Friday. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was scheduled to visit the hardest-hit Cebu province and has declared a state of emergency.

The Philippines is also bracing for another potentially strong tropical cyclone, Typhoon Fung-wong—known locally as Uwan—which is expected to intensify into a super typhoon before hitting Aurora province, north of Manila, late Sunday or early Monday.

Kalmaegi marks the 13th typhoon of the year in the South China Sea. The Philippines, which faces about 20 tropical cyclones annually, still bears the scars of Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, which killed over 6,300 people.