At least three people have been killed and hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes as a typhoon lashed Central Philippines, the country’s disaster agency said.
Typhoon Kalmaegi flooded many areas, including the towns of the island of Cebu.
Videos show people spinning on rooftops, while cars and shipping containers are driven through the streets.
A military helicopter has been deployed to aid relief efforts in the collapsed Northern Mindanao Island, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) said. It is not yet clear if there were any survivors of the crash.
The storm, named Tino, has weakened since making landfall early Tuesday, but continues to pack winds of more than 80mph (h).
It is forecast to move across the Visayas region and out of the South China Sea on Wednesday.
“The situation in Cebu is unprecedented,” Governor Pamela Baricuatro said in a Facebook post.
“We expect the winds to be the dangerous part, but … the water is what really puts our people at risk,” he said.
“The floods are just cold.”
Don Del Rosario, 28, was one of the residents of Ciudad City who took refuge on the upper floor as the typhoon was forming.
“I’ve been here for 28 years, and this is the worst we’ve ever experienced,” he told AFP News Agency.
In a statement, the PAF said a rescue helicopter went down near Agusan del Sur on Mindanao Island.
“Communication with the helicopter was lost, prompting the launch of a search and rescue operation,” it said, adding that more details would be released “.
In total, almost 400,000 people have been evacuated from the storm’s path, Rafaelito Alejandro, Deputy Administrator of the Office of Civil Defense, told a news conference.
The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 typhoons and typhoons every year.
The latest comes nearly a month after back-to-back typhoons killed a dozen people and damaged infrastructure and crops.
Super Typhoon Ragasa, known locally as Nando, hit in late September, followed immediately by typhoon Bualoi, known locally.
In the months before, a particularly wet monsoon season caused flooding, The entry of anger and protests before completed and sub-standard flood control systems blamed on corruption.
On September 30, DODZEN was killed and wounded After a strong 699 magnitude earthquake hit the center of the Philippines, Cebu was devastated by the damage.