"We always expect the worst, and what I saw yesterday was the worst," volunteer worker Caloy Ramirez told the AP news agency after the typhoon's advance.
The highest number of deaths has been recorded on the island of Cebu, the worst-hit. In Liloan, near Cebu City, roofs have been torn off buildings and cars are piled up. So far, 35 bodies have been dug out of mud and rubble, including Christine Aton's sister, who was trapped in her bedroom when the water rushed into the house.
"We tried to pry open the bedroom door with a kitchen knife and a crowbar, but it wouldn't budge. Then the refrigerator started floating around," Aton told AFP.
I opened a window and swam out with my dad. We cried, we wanted to save my older sister.
Others took shelter on rooftops, waiting in vain for rescue.
"We tried to call for help but no one came. They said the rescue workers had been swept away by the currents," father-of-two Chyros Roa told AFP.
On Thursday, President Ferdinand Marcos declared a "national state of disaster," giving the government the green light to release funds for relief efforts and impose price caps on groceries.
Kalmaegi is now continuing westward toward Vietnam and increasing in strength over the ocean. On Thursday, it was upgraded to a "violent typhoon," according to the weather service Accuweather's scale.
