Typhoon Kalmaegi has left at least 66 people dead with 26 others missing in the central Philippines, many in widespread flooding that trapped people on their roofs and swept away scores of cars in a hard-hit province still recovering from a deadly earthquake, officials said on Wednesday.

Kalmaegi blew away from western Palawan province into the South China Sea before noon on Wednesday with sustained winds of up to 130 kph (81 mph) and gusts of up to 180 kph (112 mph), according to forecasters.

The flooding engulfed residential communities, forcing startled residents to climb up to their roofs, where they desperately pleaded to be rescued as the floodwaters rose, officials said.

At least 49 drowned in floods and a few others died due to landslides and falling debris in Cebu, where 13 of the 26 missing were reported, the Office of Civil Defense said on Wednesday.

The Philippine Red Cross received many calls from people needing rescue in Cebu from their roofs, its secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang said on Tuesday, adding the efforts had to wait until flooding subsided to lessen the risks for emergency personnel.

Jeomar Gempisoa, a resident who lost his house, called for aid.

“We need help, even just a little. I lost my house, everybody here lost their homes. My cousin and neighbors, we lost our houses. We need anything, even just water and food. We have nothing,” he told The Associated Press.

A corruption scandal involving substandard or non-existent flood control projects across the Philippines has sparked public outrage and street protests in recent months.

Cebu, a bustling province of more than 2.4 million people, declared a state of calamity to allow authorities to disburse emergency funds more rapidly to deal with the latest natural disaster.

Cebu was still recovering from a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on Sept. 30 that left at least 79 people dead and displaced thousands when houses collapsed or were severely damaged.

Before Kalmaegi’s landfall, officials said more than 387,000 people had evacuated to safer ground in eastern and central Philippine provinces.

Authorities had warned of torrential rains, potentially destructive winds and storm surges of up to three meters (nearly 10 feet).

Inter-island ferries and fishing boats were prohibited from venturing out to increasingly rough seas, stranding more than 3,500 passengers and cargo truck drivers in nearly 100 seaports, the coast guard said. At least 186 domestic flights were canceled.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year.

The country also is often hit by earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

AP video shot by Jacqueline Hernandez