Filipino Mother Salvages Scrap to Feed Family After Typhoon Kalmaegi

Aftermath of Typhoon Kalmaegi

• 🏠 Liza Becus returned to her home in Talisay City, Cebu province, after Typhoon Kalmaegi, finding only the floor remaining of her house.
• 💔 She described everything as destroyed and washed away, leaving her and her seven children with no belongings, including uniforms and bags.
• 💸 Personal items like a TV and washing machine, which were paid off over weeks and months, are now gone.

Salvaging for Survival

• 🛠️ Becus is salvaging what she can from the scattered metal and iron sheets to sell, aiming to buy rice for her family to eat.
• 🏠 She built a makeshift shack from salvaged iron sheets to provide shelter and dug out clothes to clean for daily wear.

Wider Impact and Response

• 🌊 Residents in Cebu City also began cleaning up, with floods leaving vehicles piled up and homes deep in mud.
• ⚠️ Local resident Marlin Enriquez expressed surprise at the flood's height, forcing people to scramble onto roofs for safety.
• 💔 Typhoon Kalmaegi, which barreled through central Philippines, killed at least 114 people and displaced thousands.
• 🌍 This devastation follows a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in northern Cebu just over a month prior, which killed dozens.
• 📢 Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of national calamity, enabling wider access to emergency funds and faster aid delivery.