Typhoon Yagi wrecks havoc in Vietnam, threatens Hanoi

Landslides and floods triggered by typhoon Yagi have killed at least 127 people in northern Vietnam, and 54 others are missing.

The disaster management agency said on Tuesday in its latest update on the situation.

The death toll in Vietnam from Asia’s biggest storm of the year reached 127 on Tuesday, with torrential rains causing floods and landslides, burying homes, sweeping away a bridge, and now threatening the capital Hanoi.

Residents in many northern provinces, including Hanoi’s suburbs, waded through knee-high floods.

Most of the victims were killed in landslides and flash floods, the agency said, adding that 764 people had been injured.

The typhoon made landfall on Vietnam’s northeastern coast on Saturday, destroying a swath of industrial and residential districts and bringing torrential rain that caused flooding and landslides.
It had already impacted the Philippines and the southern Chinese island of Hainan.

Several rivers in northern Vietnam have risen to alarming levels, leaving villages and residential areas inundated, according to the disaster agency and state media.

A 30-year-old bridge over the Red River in the northern province of Phu Tho collapsed on Monday, leaving eight people missing.

Authorities across the north on Tuesday subsequently banned or limited traffic on other bridges across the river, including Chuong Duong Bridge, one of the largest in Hanoi, according to state media reports.

Using loudspeakers that had previously aired Communist propaganda, officials told inhabitants of the capital’s riverside Long Bien district to be prepared for flooding and to evacuate the region.

Other northern areas, including the industrial hubs of Bac Giang and Thai Nguyen, were also facing severe flooding, state media reported.

Evacuations were also taking place from flood-prone areas in Bac Giang province, the government said, where the typhoon and floods have caused damage estimated for now to be worth 300 billion dong ($12.1 million).