Super Typhoon Yagi kills four in Vietnam after damaging China and Philippines By Reuters
Written by Minh Nguyen and Thinh Nguyen
HANOI/HAIPHONG (Reuters) – Asia’s strongest typhoon this year hit northern Vietnam on Saturday, the weather agency said, killing at least four people after tearing through China’s Hainan island and the Philippines.
Super Typhoon Yagi hit the northern island regions of Vietnam around 13:00 (0600 GMT), packing winds of up to 160 kph (99 mph) near its center, losing strength from 234 kph (145 mph) in Hainan the previous day . .
The government said that as of 5:00 p.m., four people died and 78 were injured by the typhoon. At least a dozen others were lost at sea, according to state media.
Yagi had already claimed the lives of at least two people in Hainan and 16 people in the Philippines, the first country he reached, as they formed in the eastern part of the archipelago earlier in the week.
Vietnam’s coastal city of Haiphong, an industrial hub of 2 million people that hosts factories from overseas and local automaker VinFast (NASDAQ: ), was among the hardest hit by winds of up to 90 kph.
As the typhoon approached, the city experienced widespread power outages on Saturday, authorities said, as did at least three other northern states.
In Haiphong, strong winds smashed windows and waves were three meters high when they hit the shore, according to Reuters witnesses.
Sheets of metal roofing were blown off, photos and pictures were shown in the local media. The government said thousands of trees had fallen and many houses were damaged in northern Vietnam.
Earlier in Hainan, home to more than 10 million people, the typhoon felled trees, flooded roads and cut power to more than 800,000 homes.
Airports are closed
Vietnam has evacuated more than 50,000 people from coastal towns and deployed 450,000 troops, the government said.
It also suspended operations for several hours at four airports on Saturday, including Hanoi’s Noi Bai, the busiest in the north, which canceled more than 300 flights.
High schools were also closed in 12 northern provinces, including the capital Hanoi, which has a population of 8.5 million.
Authorities in the capital stopped public transport on buses and two main metro lines on Saturday afternoon, state media reported. The Meteorological Agency has warned of the risk of severe flooding in the city centre.
Hanoi resident Nguyen Manh Quan, 40, said: “The wind is so strong that it can blow a person away,” while Dang Van Phuong, 40, said: “I’ve never seen a storm like this, you can’t drive in.” these spirits.”
Storms are getting stronger, fueled by warmer oceans, amid climate change, scientists say.
Last week, typhoon Shanshan hit southwestern Japan, the strongest typhoon to hit the country in decades.
Yagi is named after the Japanese name for the goat and the constellation Capricornus.
