Deadly Typhoon Kalmaegi Batters Philippines and Vietnam, Heads Toward Laos and Thailand

Typhoon Kalmaegi leaves trail of destruction across the Philippines and Vietnam

Typhoon Kalmaegi swept across central Vietnam on Friday after unleashing record rainfall and devastating floods in the central Philippines. Philippine authorities reported 188 people killed and 135 still missing after the storm tore through islands including Cebu and Negros. Vietnam’s environment ministry said the storm made landfall in Gia Lai province with sustained winds up to 92 mph and reported five fatalities there.

“The roof of my house was just blown away,” said Nguyen Van Tam, a 42-year-old fisherman in Gia Lai. “We were all safe, but the typhoon was really terrible — so many trees fallen.”

Vietnamese officials were still surveying damage on Friday morning. The environment ministry reported that 57 houses collapsed in Gia Lai and neighboring Dak Lak, nearly 3,000 more homes had roofs blown off or were damaged, and 11 boats or ships sank. The state power company said about 1.6 million customers lost electricity when the storm struck the central coast; roughly one-third had service restored by Friday morning.

Widespread flooding and record rainfall

In the Philippines, authorities described floodwaters as unprecedented in parts of Cebu province, where rescuers continued to search for the missing. In some places, up to 1.7 m (5 ft 6 in) of rain fell within 24 hours, breaking national records and sweeping away vehicles and shipping containers.

Kalmaegi struck central Vietnam at a time when the country was still reeling from more than a week of heavy rains and flooding that had already killed at least 47 people and inundated UNESCO-listed sites such as the former imperial capital of Hue and the ancient town of Hoi An.

Storm track and outlook

The fast-moving typhoon has tracked northwest toward Laos and is forecast to bring heavy rains to Thailand, where authorities issued warnings for flooding that could begin in the northeast and spread across the country. Vietnam typically faces roughly 10 tropical cyclones a year; Kalmaegi is the 13th of 2025.

Response and risks

Emergency teams in both countries are focused on search-and-rescue, restoring power and clearing roads blocked by fallen trees and debris. With nearly 2,000 miles of coastline and some 2,300 rivers, Vietnam remains highly vulnerable to flooding during intense storms like Kalmaegi.

Key figures: Philippines — 188 dead, 135 missing; Vietnam — 5 dead, 57 houses collapsed, ~3,000 roofs damaged; ~1.6 million customers lost power (about one-third restored); sustained winds up to 92 mph; up to 1.7 m of rain in 24 hours in some locations.