At least 43 people have died as Typhoon Kalmaegi

At least 43 people have died as Typhoon Kalmaegi, locally named Tino, hit the Philippines on Tuesday with destructive winds, heavy rains and sparking deep flooding across large areas.

A spokesman for the national Office of Civil Defence, said that most of the victims from the storm died from drowning, while others were killed by felled trees, a landslide and electrocution. Red Cross personnel were deployed in locations across the archipelago nation as people were stranded on rooftops and in inundated communities.

Large-scale evacuations were carried out across the most vulnerable areas before the storm’s landfall, including a group of islands where more than 6,000 people died in 2013 as a result of Super Typhoon Yolanda. Power outages and transport disruption were also reported in the country, with flights and ferries halted as the typhoon hit.