Typhoon Kalmaegi tore through Vietnam’s central coast late Thursday, killing at least five people and leaving a trail of destruction before weakening inland – the storm’s latest assault after killing 188 people and displacing thousands across the Philippines earlier this week.

Packing powerful winds and torrential rains, Kalmaegi uprooted trees, flattened homes, and knocked out power to more than 1.3 million residents, Vietnam’s disaster management agency said Friday.

The storm also injured seven people and damaged nearly 2,800 houses as heavy flooding inundated parts of Gia Lai, Quang Ngai, and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.

Authorities warned that the danger isn’t over yet, with forecasts predicting up to 200 millimeters (8 inches) of additional rainfall and rising river levels that could trigger landslides and flash floods in the central highlands and coastal lowlands.

"We are on high alert for secondary disasters like flooding and landslides,” said Pham Van Long, a disaster response official in Da Nang. "Even though Kalmaegi has weakened, the rains could still be deadly.”

Desperation along the coast

In Gia Lai province, shrimp farmer Nguyen Dinh Sa, 26, described watching helplessly as towering waves and fierce winds destroyed his livelihood.

"I went to check every hour, but I couldn’t save anything,” he said. "All six tons of shrimp are gone. My investment – everything – is gone.”

His two-story storage building, used for shrimp feed, was briefly submerged by seven-meter waves, causing losses estimated at 1 billion dong ($38,000). "I am desperate at the moment,” he added.

Elsewhere, toppled power poles littered the streets, shattered glass glinted on sidewalks, and residents huddled around generators to charge their phones and listen for news.

Vietnam’s state-run news agency reported damage to railway lines in Quang Ngai, while telecommunications disruptions slowed emergency coordination.

The government mobilized 268,000 soldiers and rescuers to assist in evacuations and clear debris.

Meanwhile, authorities in the Central Highlands, home to the country’s major coffee-growing region, said rainfall had eased by Friday and plantations escaped major damage – a relief for traders fearing crop losses.

Aftermath in the Philippines

Before striking Vietnam, Kalmaegi had devastated the Philippines, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited evacuation centers on Friday to console survivors. The storm left 135 people missing and nearly 100 injured, washing away homes and bridges in its path.

"Most of the victims were carried away by rushing waters – the sheer volume and speed of the floods were unimaginable,” Marcos told local officials, promising full government support for recovery efforts.

Kalmaegi was the 13th typhoon to form in the South China Sea this year – a grim reminder of how exposed both Vietnam and the Philippines are to the world’s most frequent and powerful tropical storms.

Rising temperatures, stronger storms

As Kalmaegi made landfall, global climate experts meeting in Belem, Brazil, for the latest UN climate talks warned that warmer oceans are fueling more violent typhoons across Asia.

"Sea surface temperatures across the western North Pacific and South China Sea are exceptionally warm,” said Ben Clarke, a researcher at the Grantham Institute in London. "Kalmaegi was stronger and wetter because of this – a clear sign of human-driven climate change.”

Scientists say warmer waters accelerate evaporation, creating storms packed with more "fuel” and heavier rainfall.

"Climate change doesn’t necessarily mean more storms, but it means stronger ones,” said Gianmarco Mengaldo of the National University of Singapore. "We are seeing a rise in the frequency of intense events – with more rainfall and more destructive winds.”

Data shows the total number of typhoons annually has not increased dramatically, but the share of category 4 and 5 storms has surged. And when storms arrive back-to-back – as they increasingly do – the cumulative damage multiplies.

"When soils are already saturated and rivers are full, even a weaker storm can cause catastrophic damage,” said Feng Xiangbo, a tropical storm researcher at the University of Reading. "That’s what we’re seeing with Kalmaegi.”

A warming pattern

Southeast Asia has endured months of punishing weather this year.

In 2024, the Philippines was battered by six deadly typhoons in just four weeks – and at one point, four tropical cyclones formed simultaneously in November.

Scientists warn such clustering is becoming more common as warming oceans distort weather systems.

"Even if total cyclone numbers don’t rise sharply, their closeness in time and the potential for cumulative damage are increasing,” said Drubajyoti Samanta of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. "Kalmaegi is a clear warning of that emerging pattern.”

Researchers also note that typhoons are increasingly tracking farther north and west, threatening regions historically less affected by tropical storms.

Rising sea levels and expanding storm surges are expected to worsen flooding in Vietnam’s low-lying coastal zones and the Philippines’ archipelagic provinces.

"The footprint of tropical storms is growing,” Feng added. "More coastlines, more people, and more cities are now at risk.”

Stark warning

While Vietnam begins its recovery and the Philippines braces for another looming storm – Typhoon Fung-wong, expected to strengthen into a super typhoon – scientists say Kalmaegi stands as another warning of the price of inaction.

"Every fraction of a degree of warming adds energy to these systems,” Clarke said. "The result is storms that are more violent, more destructive, and more deadly.”