"It was big cities that were hit (by floods), highly urbanized areas," Rafaelito Alejandro of the Civil Defense told local radio.
49 people died on the island of Cebu, which was hit hardest by the typhoon.
387,000 people have been evacuated from the typhoon's path, according to authorities in the country. Many have been forced to seek shelter from rising water levels on the roofs of houses and cars.
According to the weather service Accuweather, Kalmaegi is moving westward over the Western Visayas region, then increasing in strength over the ocean as it moves northwest toward Vietnam and Cambodia in the next few days.
