Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. declared a state of emergency on Thursday after Typhoon Kalmaegi left at least 140 people dead and 127 others missing.
“Given the scale of the areas affected by Typhoon Kalmaegi, and those expected to be hit by another approaching storm, I have approved the proposal of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to declare a national state of calamity,” Marcos was quoted by the Philippine News Agency as saying.
The National Disaster Council reported that more than 500,000 families — or over 1.9 million Filipinos — have been affected by the typhoon.
Kalmaegi is the 20th typhoon to strike the Philippines this year. The country is now bracing for another storm, Fung-Wong, which is expected to intensify into a super typhoon and could hit the archipelago by the end of this week.
