Typhoon Yagi latest: Strongest storm to hit Asia this year kills 14 in Vietnam and injures hundreds
Authorities warn of ongoing risks, including flooding and landslides, as the storm continues to weaken
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Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Asia this year, was downgraded to a tropical depression on Sunday after killing at least 14 in Vietnam.
The storm caused significant damage in northern Vietnam, China’s Hainan, and the Philippines, killing dozens and injuring several more.
Although the Vietnamese meteorological agency issued the downgrade, they warned of continuing risks, including potential flooding and landslides, as the storm progresses westward.
Strong winds reaching 203 kmph caused extensive damage across northern Vietnam. Buildings were wrecked, vehicles were crushed by debris, and falling trees triggered power outages, including in the capital, Hanoi.
More than 170 people are reported injured.
The government reported that the storm has resulted in at least three deaths in Hanoi, a city of 8.5 million, though these numbers are preliminary. Overall, reports indicate that fourteen people have died in Vietnam so far, including four from a landslide in Hoa Binh province, approximately 100 km south of Hanoi.
In the Philippines, the storm left 20 dead, several more missing, and over two million affected, with landslides and widespread flooding displacing over 47,600 people from their homes.
Vietnam orders evacuations and closes airports as Typhoon Yagi approaches
Typhoon Yagi, one of the most powerful in the region in a decade, has prompted the closure of airports and evacuation of residents in Vietnam’s northern provinces.
Yagi, which has already caused significant damage in China’s Hainan province, killing two and injuring nearly 100, is expected to make landfall near Quang Ninh in Vietnam.
The typhoon, with wind speeds of 150-166 kmph has led to the cancellation of hundreds of cruises and prompted evacuations and alerts in vulnerable areas.
In Hainan and Guangdong in China, about a million people were relocated.
The typhoon has also caused widespread disruption in Hong Kong and the Philippines, where it initially struck, displacing thousands and halting various services.
Typhoon Yagi makes landfall in northern Vietnam
Typhoon Yagi, one of the most powerful in the region in a decade, struck northern Vietnam on Saturday with winds reaching 149 kmph.
Authorities shut down airports, evacuated vulnerable areas, and dealt with power outages.
The typhoon caused significant damage and disruptions, including cancelled cruises at Ha Long Bay and uprooted trees in Hanoi.
Earlier, Yagi hit China’s Hainan province, causing two deaths and injuring nearly 100 people.
Typhoon Yagi bears down on northern Vietnam
Typhoon Yagi made landfall in the northern region of Vietnam on Saturday afternoon, bringing widespread heavy rainfall and strong winds.
On Saturday morning, Typhoon Yagi was located off the coast of Quang Ninh Province and Hai Phong City, packing maximum sustained winds of 166kmph.
The storm moved west-northwest at 20kmph and made landfall in northern Vietnamese provinces.
The National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting has warned of heavy rainfall of up to 350mm in the northern region, including Thanh Hoa Province, from now until Monday morning.
Residents are advised to prepare for powerful winds, flooding, flash floods, and landslides.
Hanoi woman killed by pre-Typhoon Yagi winds
Strong winds preceding Typhoon Yagi’s arrival felled a tree in Hanoi, killing a woman, according to local media reports on Saturday.
The storm has also caused power outages in Quang Ninh and Thai Binh provinces.
Earlier, the government issued alerts, evacuated vulnerable areas, and closed four airports, including in Hanoi and Haiphong, ahead of the typhoon’s landfall.
In pictures: Typhoon Yagi makes landfall in Vietnam
Vietnam issues high-level disaster warnings
Vietnam’s national weather agency has issued high-level disaster risk warnings for various regions as Typhoon Yagi intensifies.
A level-four warning has been issued for Quang Ninh and Hai Phong’s coastal and inland areas, while a level-three warning has been issued for the Gulf of Tonkin and the coastal and inland areas of Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, and Thanh Hoa.
According to Mai Van Khiem, director of the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, Typhoon Yagi is the most intense storm to hit the northern coastal region of the country in the past 30 years, as reported by Tuoi Tre News.
Mr Khiem urged residents in coastal areas, including Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, and Ninh Binh, to stay indoors during heavy rain and strong winds on Saturday.
Flash floods and landslides feared in northern Vietnam
As Typhoon Yagi bears down on Vietnam, authorities are racing to evacuate residents and assets from vulnerable areas.
The director of the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting has warned of a high risk of flooding, flash floods, and landslides in northern provinces and Thanh Hoa, urging immediate action to protect lives and property, reported Tuoi Tre News.
Even after the storm passes, residents are advised to remain vigilant for potential flash floods and landslides.
Deputy prime minister Tran Hong Ha praised the weather agency’s accurate forecasting and stressed the need for close monitoring of the typhoon’s path and impact. He also emphasised the importance of protecting coastal dikes, warning of waves reaching up to 7 meters high.
As the storm makes landfall, heavy rains and strong winds are already battering Ha Long City, prompting authorities to restrict motorbike traffic and arrange transport services for residents. In Hai Phong City, strong winds and heavy rainfall are causing large waves to crash against the shore, with authorities on high alert.
Death toll rises to four in Vietnam
Vietnamese authorities have said Typhoon Yagi has now killed at least 4 people and injured 78 others after making landfall after making landfall Saturday afternoon in the north of the country. Yagi, described by Vietnamese meteorological officials as “one of the most powerful typhoons in the region over the past decade,” made its way to the Southeast Asian country after it left three people dead and nearly a hundred others injured in the Chinese province of Hainan.
How many people have died?
Typhoon Yagi has now killed at least 23 people and injured dozens after making its way through the Philippines, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
Yagi was still a storm when it blew out of the northwestern Philippines into the South China Sea on Wednesday, leaving at least 16 people dead and 17 others missing mostly in landslides and widespread flooding and affecting more than two million people.
Yagi struck the Chinese city of Wenchang in Hainan province on Friday afternoon with wind speeds of up to about 152mph near its centre. Local authorities said on Saturday the typhoon left three people dead and injured at least 92 others.
Some 420,000 Hainan residents were relocated before the typhoon’s landfall. Another half a million people in Guangdong province were evacuated before Yagi made a second landfall in the province’s Xuwen County on Friday night.
It made landfall in Vietnam on Saturday afternoon, and has now killed at least 4 people.
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