A disturbing finding has surfaced following Typhoon Gaemi, which was one of the most destructive storms to hit Southeast Asia in recent times. The Philippines was devastated by the strong typhoon that struck in July, leaving behind extensive damage. The storm’s rage left a path of destruction, with tens of thousands being evacuated and many dozen reported dead.

According to The Metro, in the middle of the mayhem, Ashley Fruono, PETA Asia’s director of animal assistance programs, discovered a terrible scene: dogs who had been abandoned and were either held in cages or fastened to lampposts outside the wrecked homes of their owners. These creatures were abandoned and allowed to weather the storm on their own, even in spite of the dire circumstances and the pressing necessity for evacuation.

“I’ll never forget seeing the decomposing bodies of dogs in cages or attached to their chains with a look of horror on their faces. They were subjected to an almost unimaginably horrific death-that was completely preventable,” Ashley told The Metro.

The news portal further reported, citing a report from the worldwide kennel club registry, the Federation Cynologique Internationale, that animal abuse has long been a major concern for animal rights activists in the Philippines, which is home to some 23.29 million dogs. Around 12,000,000 people own a dog. Yet there were at least 3,000 cases of animal maltreatment in 2020 alone, the Philippine animal welfare non-profit, Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA), found.

A resident in Marikina City, Philippines, posted a video on Wednesday showing a dog struggling to reach a safer area through the floodwaters caused by Super Typhoon Gaemi (CarinaPH) pic.twitter.com/fsUEE63JLh

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“Cruelty to animals is a huge concern in the Philippines,” Ashley, 38, who is from British Columbia, Canada, but has lived in the Philippines for 17 years, said.

“While we’ve noticed that, thanks to increased social media use, locals are more aware of animal welfare concerns and more caring than a decade or so ago, the problem is still huge, especially in impoverished areas where it may be more difficult to keep dogs inside due to crowded living conditions,” Ashley said.

Waves crash on the coast of Sansha town as Typhoon Gaemi approaches, in Ningde, Fujian province, China. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

“Eleven people were killed after a mudslide hit a house in south-eastern China on July 28 as heavy rains from what remained of a tropical storm drenched the region,” state media said.

Elsewhere in China, a delivery person on a scooter was killed on July 27 after being hit by a falling tree in Shanghai, apparently because of storm-related winds, according to The Paper, a digital news outlet.

These deaths were the first in China that appeared to be linked to typhoon Gaemi, which weakened owing to a tropical storm that made landfall on July 25. “Before reaching China, the typhoon intensified the monsoon rains in the Philippines, leaving at least 34 dead, and swept across the island of Taiwan, where the death toll has risen to 10,” authorities said late July 27.

“The mudslide struck the house at about 8 a.m. in Yuelin village, which falls under the jurisdiction of Hengyang city in Hunan province,” state broadcaster CCTV said in a series of online reports.

An earlier report said 18 people were trapped by the mudslide and six injured people had been rescued. It wasn’t clear in the latest report if one other person remained missing. The reports didn’t say who was staying in the house that was rented for temporary stays. There was no information on whether the injuries were serious.

The reports said the mudslide was triggered by water rushing down the mountains from heavy rains. They didn’t mention Gaemi, but the China Meteorological Administration said that rain tied to the tropical storm hit south-eastern parts of Hunan province on July 27.

In Shanghai, a photo posted by The Paper showed a delivery scooter on its side mostly covered by leafy branches near the still-standing barren trunk of a tree. It said that winds from the storm were the suspected cause and that the investigation was ongoing.

The wide arc of the tropical storm also was bringing heavy rain about 2,000 km (1,200 miles) away to Liaoning province in China’s North-East.

Hundreds of chemical and mining companies suspended operations from July 27 as a precautionary measure and more than 30,000 people had been evacuated, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Nearly 40 trains were suspended on Thursday for safety reasons after steady rain in recent days created hazards and damaged tracks.

“Two more people were reported dead in Taiwan, raising the death toll to 10,” the island’s Central News Agency said, quoting the emergency operation centre. Two others were missing, and 895 people were injured.

The latest victims were a man found in a drainage ditch and another man who died in a car accident. More than 800 people remained in shelters in Taiwan as of Saturday night, and more than 5,000 households were without power.

The typhoon caused nearly 1.7 billion New Taiwan dollars ($51.8 million) in damage to crops including bananas, guavas and pears; chicken and other livestock farming and oyster and other fisheries, the Central News Agency said, citing figures from the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Typhoon slammed into Taiwan on July 24 night, bringing Category 3 winds and heavy rain that triggered widespread flooding across the island.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

More than 27,000 people in Northeast China were evacuated and hundreds of factories were ordered to suspend production as Typhoon Gaemi brought heavy rains, the official Xinhua news agency reported on July 27.

Gaemi lashed towns on China’s coastal Fujian province on July 26 with heavy rains and strong winds as the most powerful storm to hit the country this year began its widely watched trek from the Southeastern coast into the populous interior.

The storm, which killed dozens as it swept through Taiwan and worsened seasonal rains in the Philippines, has affected almost 630,000 people in China’s Fujian province, with almost half of them being relocated, Xinhua has reported.

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Heavy rains caused water levels to rise in 40 reservoirs across Liaoning province, the area is expected to experience torrential rain for the next few days, the report said.

Hundreds of chemical and mining companies across the province have suspended operations and nearby residents have been relocated to avoid flood risks, Xinhua said.

A man sweeps the mud off the alley following floods brought by Typhoon Gaemi, in San Mateo town, Rizal province, Philippines, July 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Lisa Marie David/Reuters

What was Typhoon Gaemi has weakened to a severe tropical storm and headed toward inland China on Friday after making landfall the previous evening on the east coast.

The storm felled trees, flooded streets and damaged crops in China but there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage. Five people died in Taiwan, which Gaemi crossed at typhoon strength on Thursday before heading over open waters to China.

The worst loss of life, however, was in a country that Gaemi earlier passed by but didn’t strike directly: the Philippines. A steadily climbing death toll has reached 32, authorities there said Friday. The typhoon exacerbated seasonal monsoon rains in the Southeast Asian country, causing landslides and severe flooding that stranded people on rooftops as waters rose around them.

Gaemi waned into a severe tropical storm after coming ashore Thursday evening in coastal Fujian province, but it is still expected to bring heavy rains in the coming days as it moves northwest to Jiangxi, Hubei and Henan provinces.

About 85 hectares of crops were damaged in Fujian province and economic losses were estimated at 11.5 million yuan ($1.6 million), according to Chinese media reports. More than 290,000 people were relocated because of the storm.

Elsewhere in China, several days of heavy rains this week in Gansu province left one dead and three missing in the country’s northwest, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Residents and business owners swept out mud and mopped up water Friday after serious flooding that sent cars and scooters floating down streets in parts of southern and central Taiwan.

Five people died, several of them struck by falling trees and one by a landslide hitting their house. More than 650 people were injured, the emergency operations center said.

Visiting hard-hit Kaohsiung in the south, President Lai Ching-te commended the city’s efforts to improve flood control since a 2009 typhoon that brought a similar amount of rain and killed 681 people, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.

Lai announced that cash payments of $610 would be given to households in severely flooded areas.

At least 32 people have died in the Philippines, mostly because of flooding and landslides triggered by days of monsoon rains that intensified when the typhoon — called Carina in the Philippines — passed by the archipelago’s east coast.

The victims included 11 people in the Manila metro area, where widespread flooding trapped people on the roofs and upper floors of their houses, police said. Some drowned or were electrocuted in their flooded communities.

Earlier this week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered authorities to speed up efforts in delivering food and other aid to isolated rural villages, saying people may not have eaten for days.

The bodies of a pregnant woman and three children were dug out Wednesday after a landslide buried a shanty in the rural mountainside town of Agoncillo in Batangas province.

Motorists ride through a flooded street in Manila on amid heavy rains brought about by Typhoon Gaemi.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Relentless rain drenched the northern Philippines on July 24, triggering floods in Manila and deadly landslips as Typhoon Gaemi intensified the seasonal monsoon.

Rescuers were deployed across the densely populated capital to help evacuate people from low-lying homes after downpours turned streets into rivers, trapping vehicles.

People clutched flimsy umbrellas as they waded through thigh-deep murky water or used small boats and shopping trolleys to move around.

“The disturbance it caused is great. The waters reached the second floor of our house,” Nora Clet, a resident, said.

Restaurant employee Rex Morano said he was not able to work due to the “very high” floodwaters.

A state of calamity was declared for Manila, unlocking funds for relief efforts, after the state weather forecaster warned of “serious flooding” in some areas.

Government offices were shut and classes suspended, more than 100 domestic and international flights were cancelled, and tens of thousands of customers lost power because of the weather.

Some shopping malls and churches offered temporary shelter to people affected.

“Many areas are flooded so we have rescuers deployed all over the city. There is an overwhelming number of people asking for help,” Peachy de Leon, a disaster official in suburban Manila, said.

“We were told last night the rain will not hit us, then the rain suddenly poured so we were quite shocked. There is an ongoing search and rescue now.”

Typhoon Gaemi, which has swept past the Philippines as it heads towards Taiwan, intensified the southwest monsoon rains typical for this time of year, the state weather forecaster said.

“Usually the peak of rainy season is July and August and it so happens that there is a typhoon in the eastern waters of the Philippines that enhances the southwest monsoon,” senior weather specialist Glaiza Escullar said.

More than 200 mm of rain fell in the capital in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning, Escullar said, which was “not unusual”.

More heavy rain was expected on July 25.

Landslips killed a pregnant woman and three children in Batangas province, south of Manila, and a woman and her five-year-old child in Pampanga province, north of the capital, police and disaster officials said Wednesday.

Three major roads were blocked by landslides in the mountainous Benguet province.

That takes the death toll from heavy rains over swaths of the country in the past two weeks to at least 14, as tens of thousands sheltered in evacuation centres.

President Ferdinand Marcos ordered on July 24 disaster response officials to ensure they had sufficient stockpiles of food for the hardest-hit areas because “their situation is critical”.

Hard-scrabble neighbourhoods near Manila Bay were badly affected, with most of the streets underwater and more than 2,000 people forced to flee their homes.

About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Philippines or its surrounding waters each year, damaging homes and infrastructure and killing dozens of people.