DEVASTATING FLOODS AND LANDSLIDES CLAIM 59 LIVES AS VIETNAM REELS UNDER TYPHOON YAGI

Mon 09 September 2024:

Typhoon Yagi, the most powerful storm to hit Asia this year, has left a trail of destruction in Vietnam, claiming at least 59 lives as landslides and floods wreaked havoc across the country. The storm, which made landfall on Vietnam’s northeastern coast on Saturday, had already caused significant damage in China and the Philippines before hitting Vietnam.

Among the casualties were six individuals, including a newborn and a one-year-old boy, who perished in a landslide in the Hoang Lien Son mountains of northwestern Vietnam. The bodies were recovered on Sunday, according to a local official who spoke with AFP.

In another tragic incident, a family of four lost their lives when a rain-soaked hillside collapsed onto their home in the mountainous Hoa Binh province, as reported by state media.

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Floods and Landslides Continue to Pose Threats

The disaster continued into Monday, with a passenger bus carrying 20 people being swept into a flooded stream in Cao Bang province due to a landslide. Rescuers struggled to reach the site as landslides blocked access.

In Phu Tho province, rescue operations are ongoing after a steel bridge over the swollen Red River collapsed, plunging 10 vehicles and two motorbikes into the waters below. While three people were rescued and taken to the hospital, 13 others remain missing.

The Vietnamese government reported widespread disruptions to power and telecommunications, particularly in the northeastern regions of Quang Ninh and Hai Phong. The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting warned that the threat of further floods and landslides persists, with some areas experiencing up to 17 inches of rainfall within 24 hours.

The typhoon, now downgraded to a tropical depression, left parts of Hai Phong submerged under half a meter of water, with the city experiencing widespread power outages. The storm also caused significant damage to infrastructure, including the sinking of 30 vessels at Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In total, nearly 3,300 houses were damaged, and over 120,000 hectares of crops were destroyed in northern Vietnam.

Yagi’s Widespread Destruction Across Asia

Before hitting Vietnam, Typhoon Yagi had already torn through southern China and the Philippines, leaving at least 24 dead and many more injured. The increasing severity of such storms in the region is attributed to climate change, with typhoons forming closer to the coast, intensifying more quickly, and lingering longer over land, according to a recent study.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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