On September 25 and 26, 2025, Severe Tropical Storm Bualoi swept across the central Philippines, leaving a trail of destruction, tragedy, and renewed calls for accountability. The storm, the 15th tropical cyclone to batter the country this year, struck just days after Super Typhoon Ragasa’s deadly rampage, compounding the suffering of communities already reeling from disaster.
Bualoi made landfall in the town of San Policarpo, Eastern Samar province, on Thursday night, packing sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour (68 mph) and gusts reaching up to 135 kph (84 mph), according to the Philippine weather bureau Pagasa, as reported by the Associated Press and state television outlet PTV. The storm’s immense rain and wind bands—stretching some 450 kilometers (280 miles) from its center—unleashed widespread flooding, toppled trees and electrical posts, and blew roofs off homes and public buildings. In some areas, even a grandstand was left roofless, provincial officials told reporters.
As Bualoi approached, authorities scrambled to evacuate residents from landslide- and flood-prone villages, many of which have endured the wrath of typhoons time and again. Over 433,000 people were moved to government emergency shelters, with particularly large evacuations in the eastern Bicol region—where about 87,000 found refuge—and in the provinces of Eastern Samar and Northern Samar, where more than 73,000 sought shelter, as detailed by civil defense officials and covered by Al Jazeera. In Albay province, villagers living on the foothills of Mayon, one of the country’s most active volcanoes, were urged to leave due to the risk of volcanic mudflows triggered by heavy rain, civil defense officer Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV explained in a news conference.
Despite these efforts, the storm claimed at least ten lives. In the hard-hit central province of Masbate, three people died—two after being pinned by a fallen tree and a collapsed concrete wall, and another who drowned, according to local officials and the Associated Press. The Bicol region reported four deaths, including three on Masbate and one in Camarines Norte province, where a person was struck by lightning, as PTV and regional civil defense director Claudio Yucot confirmed. In Biliran province, seven villagers died, mostly due to flash floods, Alejandro said. At least 13 people remained missing as of Friday, many of them fishermen from three central provinces who ventured to sea before the storm’s arrival and have not been accounted for, officials noted.
Masbate Governor Ricardo Kho, speaking at a televised briefing, painted a grim picture of the aftermath. “We need clearing operations because most of our road networks are not really passable for food and health assistance to pass,” Kho said. “We also need help to have our ports reopened as early as possible for us to receive help from different provinces.” On the central island of Panay, heavy rains unleashed a mudslide along a national highway, leaving vehicles partially buried in mud as bulldozers struggled to clear the way, according to the provincial disaster agency. Photos circulating on social media showed people being evacuated from rising floodwaters in Iloilo province, while parts of Manila, the capital, were also inundated, forcing the government to suspend classes.
The scale of displacement was staggering. At least 20,000 people were forced from their homes on Masbate island alone, Governor Kho told a news briefing. Across the country, the need for emergency shelter, food, and medical assistance quickly outpaced the resources of local governments. The Philippine Red Cross and other relief organizations mobilized to provide aid, but logistical challenges—blocked roads, closed ports, and ongoing rains—hampered their efforts.
Philippine forecasters warned that Bualoi, known locally as Opong, could restrengthen into a typhoon as it moved westward over the South China Sea toward northern Vietnam, sparing some of the densely populated coastal provinces south of Manila from even greater devastation. The storm’s slightly southward veer from its forecast northwest track was a small mercy, but for many, it was cold comfort in the face of mounting losses.
Adding to the storm’s impact was its timing. The Philippines is currently embroiled in a high-profile corruption scandal involving flood control and other infrastructure projects—precisely the kind of investments meant to protect communities from disasters like Bualoi. Multiple investigations have implicated lawmakers, including allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in schemes that allegedly siphoned off billions of pesos in kickbacks, resulting in substandard or overpriced projects. Two dismissed government engineers told a Senate inquiry this week that most flood control and road projects in Bulacan—a flood-prone province of 3.7 million near Manila—were compromised over the past six years to accommodate bribes for congressmen and senators.
President Marcos did not mince words when describing the situation. “The scale of corruption and its impact on ordinary Filipinos is horrible,” he declared, vowing that “nobody would be spared from ongoing investigations and prosecution, including my close allies,” as quoted by the Associated Press. The scandal has fueled public outrage and sparked protests, including one that turned deadly just days before Bualoi struck. Many Filipinos see a direct link between the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters and the failure of public officials to deliver on promises of resilient infrastructure.
Experts and scientists warn that the Philippines’ exposure to increasingly powerful storms is only worsening as climate change heats the planet and intensifies weather patterns. The country averages 20 storms and typhoons each year, leaving millions in disaster-prone areas locked in a cycle of poverty and recovery. The devastation wrought by Bualoi came on the heels of Super Typhoon Ragasa, which killed at least nine people in the far north earlier in the week and left thousands still displaced, as reported by Al Jazeera and the Associated Press. In Taiwan and China, Ragasa’s toll was even higher, with at least 28 deaths attributed to the typhoon before it dissipated over Vietnam.
As the Philippines faces the daunting task of rebuilding, many are calling not just for immediate aid, but for systemic change. The need for transparent governance, robust infrastructure, and climate adaptation has never been more urgent. In the words of one provincial official, “We need help to have our ports reopened as early as possible for us to receive help from different provinces.” The plea echoes across the archipelago, a stark reminder that in the Philippines, the storms are relentless—but so, too, is the resolve of its people.
