Typhoon Kalmaegi Leaves at Least 193 Dead in the Philippines and Vietnam as Another Super Typhoon Approaches

Typhoon Kalmaegi has killed at least 193 people across the Philippines and Vietnam, flattening homes, flooding whole towns and cutting power to more than a million people — and the region is already bracing for a second, possibly stronger storm.

The typhoon, known locally as Tino in the Philippines, tore through the central Philippines on Wednesday 4 November 2026 before crossing the South China Sea and slamming into central Vietnam late on Friday 6 November. In the Philippines, at least 188 people are dead and 135 are still missing. In Vietnam, five more people have died and three are missing.

It is the deadliest natural disaster to hit the Philippines this year. And with Typhoon Fung-wong forecast to strike the northern Philippines as a super typhoon within days, the worst may not be over.

At a glance

• What happened: Typhoon Kalmaegi hit the central Philippines on 4 November, then made landfall in central Vietnam late on 6 November.
• The death toll: At least 188 dead and 135 missing in the Philippines; five dead and three missing in Vietnam.
• The damage: More than 560,000 people displaced in the Philippines; around 2,800 homes damaged in Vietnam and 1.3 million people without electricity.
• The response: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared a state of national calamity. Vietnam has deployed more than 260,000 military personnel for relief work.
• What comes next: Typhoon Fung-wong, known locally as Uwan, is expected to hit the northern Philippines on Sunday evening or early Monday morning, and could grow into a super typhoon.

What happened in the Philippines

Kalmaegi made landfall in the central Philippines early on Wednesday, battering the islands of Cebu and Negros with fierce winds and torrential rain. It was the 20th tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year — but it quickly became the deadliest.

The storm dumped about a month and a half’s worth of rain in a single day on metropolitan Cebu, according to the state weather forecaster Benison Estareja. Rivers burst their banks, flash floods swept through towns, and landslides buried homes under mud. Cars, trucks and even shipping containers were swept away by the floodwater.

The scale of the displacement is enormous. More than 560,000 people were forced from their homes, including nearly 450,000 who were evacuated to emergency shelters. As of Friday, more than 318,000 people were still sheltering in evacuation centres, according to the Office of Civil Defense.

The disaster also claimed the lives of six Philippine Air Force crew members. Their Huey helicopter crashed in Agusan del Sur province on the island of Mindanao on Wednesday while flying a humanitarian relief mission in the storm. All six bodies were recovered, and the military has opened an investigation.

On Friday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of national calamity, a step that lets government agencies release emergency funds quickly and speed up relief operations. On Friday, he visited evacuation centres in Cebu, distributing relief aid and promising victims continued government support.

Cebu bore the worst of it

The central province of Cebu, one of the most densely populated parts of the Philippines, suffered the heaviest losses. At least 139 people died there, and 79 others are still missing. Most of the deaths were caused by drowning in the flash floods.

In the town of Liloan, just outside Cebu City, the human cost was laid bare at the local mortuary. Krizza Espra went there on Friday to collect the bodies of her husband and three children, who were killed when the roof of their home collapsed. Their story is one of many: families who had survived the wind found themselves trapped by water that rose faster than anyone expected.

Cebu’s governor, Pamela Baricuatro, told The Associated Press that the province had done everything it could to prepare — but the flash floods were beyond what anyone had planned for. “We did everything we can for the typhoon but, you know, there are really some unexpected things like flash floods,” she said.

The storm has also sharpened public anger in the Philippines over flood control. Kalmaegi arrived in the middle of a scandal over corruption in flood-control projects worth billions of pesos — projects that were supposed to protect communities from exactly this kind of flooding. For many Filipinos, the sight of whole towns underwater has made that scandal feel personal.

What happened in Vietnam

After leaving the Philippines, Kalmaegi gathered strength again over the warm waters of the South China Sea. As it approached Vietnam, it was packing sustained winds of about 183 kilometres per hour (114 miles per hour), with gusts reaching 220 km/h, according to forecasters.

The storm made landfall in central Vietnam late on Friday, at around 7pm local time, near the provinces of Dak Lak and Gia Lai. By the time it came ashore, its maximum sustained winds had eased to 149 km/h — roughly the strength of a Category 1 hurricane — but it still brought destructive winds, torrential rain and waves up to 3 metres (10 feet) high in coastal cities such as Da Nang.

At least five people were killed in Vietnam — three in Dak Lak and two in Gia Lai — and three fishermen were reported missing after their boat was swept away by strong waves off Ly Son island in Quang Ngai province. Seven people were injured, around 2,800 homes were damaged, and 57 houses collapsed in Gia Lai and neighbouring Dak Lak. About 1.3 million people were left without electricity, and the railway in Quang Ngai was damaged.

More than 537,000 people were evacuated from five provinces, including Hue, Da Nang and Dak Lak, as floodwaters rose and landslides threatened hillside communities. Vietnam’s military deployed more than 260,000 personnel for relief efforts, and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh led an online meeting to direct the emergency response, urging rescue teams to reach isolated areas.

The storm also hit Vietnam’s most important coffee-growing region. Dak Lak and Gia Lai sit at the heart of the country’s coffee belt, and Vietnam is the world’s largest grower of robusta coffee — the beans used in instant coffee and espresso blends around the world. The full damage to the coffee crop is still being assessed, but the storm’s timing, just as the harvest season approaches, has raised concern among growers and traders.

Authorities have warned of more heavy rain — up to 200 millimetres (8 inches) — in central provinces from Thanh Hoa to Quang Tri, with rising river levels from Hue to Dak Lak threatening further flooding and landslides. The storm is now weakening as it moves inland towards Cambodia and Laos.

Kalmaegi was the 13th typhoon to form in the South China Sea this year. Vietnam had already been hit by 12 major storms this year before it arrived, leaving at least 241 people dead and causing more than 53.8 trillion dong (about US$2 billion) in damage, according to the country’s national statistics office.

Another storm is already coming: Typhoon Fung-wong

As if one disaster were not enough, the Philippines is now preparing for a second typhoon. Typhoon Fung-wong — known locally as Uwan — is growing over the Pacific and is forecast to intensify into a super typhoon before making landfall in the northern Philippines on Sunday evening or early Monday morning.

State forecasters say Fung-wong could grow to a massive 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) in diameter before it reaches land, most likely in Aurora province or nearby areas in the north. The country’s civil aviation regulator has placed all area centres and airport operations under heightened alert.

For a country still counting its dead from Kalmaegi, the arrival of a second storm within a week is a nightmare scenario. Emergency teams that are already stretched will have to split their attention between the relief effort in the centre of the country and preparations in the north.

Why was Kalmaegi so deadly?

Kalmaegi was not the strongest typhoon of the year. Its winds at landfall in Vietnam were those of a Category 1 hurricane. What made it so destructive was the rain — and where that rain fell.

In the Philippines, the storm moved slowly enough over the central islands to dump an extraordinary amount of water in a very short time. In metropolitan Cebu, a month and a half of rain fell in a single day. No drainage system is built for that. Streets became rivers within hours, and people who had sheltered in their homes found the water rising past their windows.

The storm also arrived late in the typhoon season, when the ground in many areas was already soaked from months of storms. The Philippines had already endured 19 tropical cyclones this year before Kalmaegi. Saturated soil turns to mud quickly, and that is why landslides — not wind — caused so many of the deaths.

In Vietnam, the danger was different but just as serious. The central provinces had already suffered heavy flooding in the week before Kalmaegi arrived, flooding that had killed at least 40 people. The typhoon’s rain fell on rivers that were already high and hillsides that were already unstable.

There is a wider pattern here too. Southeast Asia sits in one of the most active tropical cyclone regions on Earth. Vietnam is typically affected by around 10 typhoons or storms a year, and the Philippines by around 20. Warmer seas — the fuel that powers typhoons — are helping storms grow stronger and carry more rain, a trend scientists have linked to a warming climate.

What is a typhoon, and why does this region get so many?

A typhoon is the same kind of storm as a hurricane — the name simply depends on where it forms. Storms in the northwest Pacific are called typhoons; those in the Atlantic and northeast Pacific are called hurricanes; and those in the Indian Ocean are called cyclones.

They form over warm ocean water, usually when the sea surface is at least 26.5 degrees Celsius. Warm, moist air rises from the ocean, and as it cools it forms clouds. The Earth’s rotation makes the rising air spin, and the storm feeds on the heat and moisture below it, growing stronger as long as it stays over warm water.

The northwest Pacific is the most active tropical cyclone basin in the world. The Philippines and Vietnam sit directly in the path of storms that form over the warm Pacific and move west towards Asia. That geography, combined with dense populations living on flood-prone coasts and river plains, is why typhoons in this region so often become humanitarian disasters.

Storms are also given local names in the Philippines. Kalmaegi was called Tino there, and Fung-wong is called Uwan. The Philippines names storms because so many pass through each year that international names alone are not enough for clear public warnings.

What happens next

• In the Philippines, the immediate priority is finding the 135 people still missing and getting aid to the hundreds of thousands still in evacuation centres. The state of national calamity declared by President Marcos unlocks emergency funds and lets the government control prices of basic goods in affected areas. But with Fung-wong approaching, relief teams will have to work fast — the window before the next storm hits is measured in days, not weeks.
• In Vietnam, the focus is on restoring power to 1.3 million people, clearing damaged roads and railways, and assessing the damage to homes and the coffee crop. Heavy rain is expected to continue in the central provinces, and the risk of flooding and landslides remains high even as the storm itself weakens.
• For the wider region, Kalmaegi is a reminder of how quickly a single storm can become a catastrophe — and how little time there is between one disaster and the next. The Philippines had barely begun to count its losses when the warnings for Fung-wong went up.

Frequently asked questions

How many people has Typhoon Kalmaegi killed?

At least 188 people in the Philippines and five in Vietnam — 193 in total. Another 135 people are missing in the Philippines and three in Vietnam, so the final toll may rise.

Where did Typhoon Kalmaegi hit?

It made landfall in the central Philippines on Wednesday 4 November, hitting Cebu and Negros hardest, then crossed the South China Sea and made landfall in central Vietnam late on Friday 6 November, near Dak Lak and Gia Lai provinces.

What is the state of national calamity in the Philippines?

It is a formal declaration by the president that unlocks emergency funds, speeds up relief operations and allows price controls on basic goods in disaster-hit areas. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared it on Friday 6 November.

What is Typhoon Fung-wong, and when will it hit?

Fung-wong — known locally as Uwan — is the next typhoon heading for the Philippines. It is forecast to strengthen into a super typhoon and make landfall in the northern Philippines, possibly in Aurora province, on Sunday evening or early Monday morning (8–9 November).

Why is it called both Kalmaegi and Tino?

Kalmaegi is the storm’s international name. In the Philippines, storms are also given a local name by the weather bureau — in this case, Tino.

Is climate change making typhoons worse?

Scientists say warmer ocean temperatures give typhoons more energy and allow them to carry more rain. That does not mean every storm is caused by climate change, but the trend towards heavier rainfall from tropical cyclones is well documented.

Conclusion

Typhoon Kalmaegi crossed two countries in three days and left nearly 200 people dead, more than half a million displaced and whole communities facing months of rebuilding. In Cebu, families are burying their dead. In Vietnam’s coffee provinces, farmers are counting the damage to their homes and their harvest.

The storm also exposed how thin the margin is between a bad typhoon and a catastrophe. A month and a half of rain in a single day. A helicopter lost on a rescue mission. A second super typhoon already on its way.

For the Philippines and Vietnam, the hard work of recovery has barely begun — and it will have to happen while the next storm is already bearing down.

Sources

• Reuters (via SRN News), “Typhoon Kalmaegi brings rain and destruction to Vietnam as death toll nears 200 in Philippines”, 7 November 2026: https://srnnews.com/typhoon-kalmaegi-brings-rain-and-destruction-to-vietnam-as-death-toll-nears-200-in-philippines-2/
• Associated Press (via Weather.com), “Typhoon Kalmaegi Makes Deadly Hit In Vietnam”, 7 November 2026: https://weather.com/news/weather/news/2025-11-05-philippines-typhoon-kalmaegi-death-toll
• Associated Press (via KPRC), “Deadly Typhoon Kalmaegi hammers central Vietnam, killing at least 2”, 6–7 November 2026: https://gmg-kprc-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/news/world/2025/11/06/philippines-declares-a-state-of-emergency-after-typhoon-kalmaegi-left-at-least-114-people-dead/
• The Edge / Bloomberg, “Powerful Typhoon Slams Vietnam’s Key Coffee Region”, 6 November 2026: https://klse.i3investor.com/web/blog/detail/ceomorningbrief/2025-11-07-story-h500497920-Powerful_Typhoon_Slams_Vietnam_8217_s_Key_Coffee_Region
• EarthSky, “Typhoon Kalmaegi hits Vietnam, with 188 dead in Philippines”, 7 November 2026: https://earthsky.org/earth/typhoon-kalmaegi-hits-vietnam-devastation-in-philippines/
• CBC, “World Report — November 7: Friday’s top stories in 10 minutes”: https://podscripts.co/podcasts/world-report/november-7-fridays-top-stories-in-10-minutes

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.