Published November 4, 2025
At least two people were killed as Typhoon Karmaegi battered the central Philippines, forcing residents to take shelter on rooftops and leaving cars adrift on flooded roads.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated after the powerful storm made landfall shortly before midnight Monday.
The 20th tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year is expected to move westward at 25 km (16 mph) on Tuesday and begin moving from the archipelago nation’s west into the South China Sea by early Wednesday, forecasters said.
“People stranded on the roof are asking for help,” Ron Ramos, an information officer in Cebu, told AFP by phone, adding that some evacuation centers were also flooded.
Hundreds of people are still living in tent cities and have been “forced to evacuate for their own safety” after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the island in late September, he said.
Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy director of civil defense, told local radio that 387,000 people had been moved out of the typhoon’s path.
A man was killed by a falling tree in Bohol province, and disaster official Danilo Atienza said an elderly person drowned in Leyte province.
Charmagne Varilla, an expert with the state weather bureau, said at least “three to five” more storms could be expected by the end of December.
Scientists have warned that storms are becoming more frequent and more powerful due to human-induced climate change.
Varilla said more cyclones usually accompany La Niña events. La Niña is a naturally occurring climate pattern that lowers surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.
