Emergency declared in Philippines as 241 dead, missing

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has declared a state of emergency after Typhoon Kalmaegi left at least 241 people dead and missing.

Kalmaegi left at least 114 people dead, mostly from drowning in flash floods, and 127 missing, many in the hard-hit central province of Cebu, before the tropical cyclone blew out of the archipelago on Wednesday into the South China Sea.

The typhoon's onslaught, which affected nearly two million people, displaced more than 560,000 villagers, including nearly 450,000 who were evacuated to emergency shelters.

Marcos's emergency declaration, made during a meeting with disaster-response officials to assess the typhoon's aftermath, will allow the government to disburse emergency funds faster and prevent food hoarding and overpricing.

While still dealing with the deadly and disastrous impact of Kalmaegi in the country's central region, disaster-response officials warned that another tropical cyclone from the Pacific could strengthen into a super typhoon and batter the northern Philippines early next week.

Among the dead were six people who were killed when a Philippine air force helicopter crashed on its way to provide humanitarian help.

Kalmaegi set off flash floods and caused a river and other waterways to swell. The resulting flooding engulfed residential communities, forcing residents to climb on their roofs, where they desperately pleaded to be rescued as the floodwaters rose, officials said.

At least 71 people died in Cebu, mostly due to drownings, while 65 others were reported missing and 69 injured, the Office of Civil Defence said.

It added that 62 others were reported missing in the central province of Negros Occidental, which is located near Cebu.

Caloy Ramirez, a volunteer rescuer, said the massive flooding set off by the typhoon turned an upscale riverside residential community in Cebu city on Tuesday into an unrecognisable scene of tumbled SUVs and houses in disarray.

Residents said floodwater engulfed the first floors of their houses in just a few minutes, sending them scrambling to upper floors or roofs in panic.

"We always expect the worst and what I saw yesterday was the worst," Ramirez told The AP.

Cebu was still recovering from a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on September 30 that left at least 79 people dead and displaced thousands when houses collapsed or were severely damaged.

Thousands of northern Cebu residents who were displaced by the earthquake were moved to sturdier evacuation shelters from flimsy tents before the typhoon struck.

Before Kalmaegi's landfall, officials said more than 387,000 people had evacuated to safer ground in eastern and central Philippine provinces.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year. The country also is often hit by earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.

Central Vietnam, still reeling from days of record rain that triggered flash floods and landslides, was bracing for more pounding rain as Kalmaegi nears.

Fishing boats returned to shore while local authorities readied evacuation plans, secured shelters and stockpiled food, state media reported.