Typhoon death toll soars past 90 in the Philippines
Baku, November 5, AZERTAC
The death toll from Typhoon Kalmaegi in the Philippines climbed past 90 on Wednesday as the devastating impact on hard-hit Cebu province became clearer after the worst flooding in recent memory, according to AFP.
Floodwaters described as unprecedented had rushed through the province's towns and cities a day earlier, sweeping away cars, riverside shanties and even massive shipping containers.
On Wednesday, Cebu spokesman Rhon Ramos told AFP that 35 bodies had been recovered from flooded areas of Liloan, a town that is part of provincial capital Cebu City's metro area.
The grim news brought the toll for Cebu to 76. Earlier in the day, national civil defence deputy administrator Rafaelito Alejandro confirmed at least 17 deaths in other provinces.
"It was the major cities that got hit (with floods), highly urbanised areas," Alejandro said in an interview with local radio, adding that 26 people remained missing.
AFP reporters on Wednesday morning spoke with residents as they cleaned up streets that a day before had been rivers.
"The flood here yesterday was really severe," Reynaldo Vergara, 53, told AFP, adding that everything in his small shop had been washed away.
"The river overflowed. That's where the water came from," he said.
"Around four or five in the morning, the water was so strong that you couldn't even step outside ... nothing like this has ever happened. The water was raging."
In the 24 hours before Kalmaegi's landfall, the area around Cebu City was deluged with 183 millimetres (seven inches) of rain, well over its 131-millimetre monthly average, weather specialist Charmagne Varilla told AFP.
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