The typhoon Kalmaegi hit the Philippines causing at least 140 dead and leaving more than 127 missing: Tinoas the tropical cyclone was nicknamed in the country, particularly hit the Cebu provincetouching land with the force of a category 2 hurricane (typhoon and hurricane, in fact, are two terms used to indicate the same atmospheric phenomenon), with winds of up to 130 km/hstorm waves between 2 and 3 meters and precipitation that dumped approx 250 mm of rain in less than 24 hours.
At the moment, Kalmaegi has strengthened to category 4 as he heads towards the Vietnamwhere the landfall today evening, Thursday 6 November: the typhoon is moving westwards at a speed of 40 km/h and is expected to hit with winds of over 209 km/h and storm waves of up to 4 metres, mainly affecting areas of Quang Ngai and Dak Lak.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines the president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of emergency, with around 130,000 families forced to evacuate: although not the most violent of the year, Kalmaegi confirms itself as the most destructive typhoon of 2025 for the archipelago. The causes are to be attributed to large amounts of rain released within a few hours, but also to the lack of notice for the civilian population and to the fact that the province of Cebu was already particularly affected by the earthquake of last September 30th and by typhoon Ragasa, the most violent of 2025, which hit the Philippines on September 22nd.
Why Typhoon Kalmaegi/Tino caused so much damage
Typhoon Kalmaegi is the 20th tropical storm to hit the Philippines in 2025: although it was not the most violent, a record still held by typhoon Ragasa last September, it is certainly the most destructive of the year. But why did it cause so much damage?
Despite being shot down on the archipelago as category 2 hurricaneKalmaegi moved in a manner particularly slow (10-15 km/h), staying on the same areas for some time and discharging enormous volumes of water on densely populated cities and towns. Specifically, between 150 and 250 mm of rain fell in the province of Cebu in just 24 hours, well above the amount of rain that falls on average in the entire month of November.
Precisely for this reason, the most affected areas have recorded flash floodswith the majority of people dying from drowning, including due to local rivers flooding, according to authorities. In Cebu, for example, the ground has begun to channel water directly into communities without adequate drainage.
Torrential rains turned roads into rivers, submerging houses and overturning cars, while communities along the Mananga River were buried by mud and debris.
The cause of these heavy rainfalls is also to be found in the high temperatures ocean water temperatures: the higher the surface water temperatures, the more rapid and intense the evaporation process, which releases large quantities of water vapor into the atmosphere. Even the high air temperature plays an important role: the warmer the air, in fact, the more it is able to contain greater quantities of water vapour, and being less dense it can rise more easily to altitude, where the abundant water vapor condenses into clouds which consequently manage to produce more intense precipitation.
Where is Typhoon Kalmaegi located and when will it hit Vietnam: trajectory and forecast
According to observations, typhoon Kalmaegi not only strengthened but also accelerated and now sI’m moving west at a speed of 40 km/h. In the meantime, as it heads towards Vietnam, it has strengthened to a category 4 hurricane: its landfall is expected this evening, Thursday 6 November, with expected winds of around 215 km/htorrential rains and storm waves which in the coastal areas of Huế and Dak Lakdi could reach 4 meters.
About 350,000 people were evacuated in the province of Gia Laiwhile 8 airports were temporarily stopped, with around 50 flights cancelled. In Vietnam, typhoon Kalmaegi is expected to hit mainly the provinces of Danang, Quang Ngai And Dak Lakalready affected by last week’s floods, which caused the deaths of at least 13 people, inundated over 116,000 homes and entire communities, including the ancient city of Hoi An and causing the loss of over 5,000 hectares of crops.
