The death toll from Typhoon Calmaegi in the Philippines has risen to 66, with 26 people missing and hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes, ABS-CBN News reported, citing the Philippine Civil Defense Agency.
Most of the victims lived on the island of Cebu, where more than a month's worth of rainfall fell, leading to flooding. A state of emergency has been declared in 53 communities.
Hurricane Melissa, which hit Jamaica last week, caused $6-7 billion in damage to the island nation, leading to an expected 8-13% decline in the country's GDP for the year, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said.
According to the prime minister, quoted by the Jamaica Gleaner, approximately 116,000 structures on the island suffered “serious or catastrophic damage“.
The Category 5 hurricane hit several Caribbean island nations in late October. Jamaica and Haiti suffered the most, with local authorities reporting 32 and 43 deaths, respectively. Another 13 people in Haiti are still missing, Cuban news channel Cuba si reported.
Melissa also passed through eastern Cuba, causing significant destruction. No deaths have been reported in the Caribbean republic.
Humanitarian aid from various countries continues to arrive in Caribbean countries affected by the storm.