(Image source from: REUTERS)
Local media reported that the death toll from Typhoon Yagi and the ensuing heavy rains that triggered floods and landslides had risen to nearly 200, with more than 125 people still missing following the devastating storm. Vietnamese newspaper VNEExpress reported that 197 people were killed, more than 800 injured and 128 missing. In the capital Hanoi, flooding from the Red River has eased slightly, but many areas remain inundated. On a road in Tai Ho district, people waded through knee-deep, muddy brown water and some paddled small boats on the side of the road amid widespread destruction. Flooding in Hanoi was reportedly the worst in 20 years and led to widespread evacuations. The entire village of Lan Nhu in Vietnam's North Lao Cai province was flooded on Tuesday, with the death toll rising sharply earlier in the week. On Wednesday, hundreds of rescuers worked tirelessly to find survivors, but by Thursday morning 53 villagers were missing and seven more bodies were recovered, raising the death toll to 42.
Yagi was the strongest storm to hit the Southeast Asian country in recent decades. It made landfall on Saturday with sustained winds of 149 km/h (92 mph). Despite the easing on Sunday, heavy rainfall continues and river levels are dangerously high. Most of the victims from floods and landslides were in the northwestern province of Lao Cai on the border with China, where Llano is located. A 30-year-old bridge over the Red River in northern Phu Thu province collapsed on Monday, leaving eight people missing, the provincial People's Committee said. Ten cars, a truck and two motorcycles reportedly fell into the river. Authorities subsequently banned or restricted traffic on other bridges over the river, including the Truong Duong Bridge, one of Hanoi's largest bridges. Heavy rain and landslides also killed 19 people in Lao Cai province in the northwest of the country, which borders China. Images obtained by the Associated Press showed mud sliding down the hill onto homes and streets as people ran to safety. The flood inundated 148,600 hectares, or about 7 percent, of rice fields and 26,100 hectares of crops in northern Vietnam and damaged about 50,000 houses in northern Vietnam, the agency said.
Yagi is the strongest storm to hit Hainan since Typhoon Ramsun in 2014, when it was the fifth tropical cyclone to reach the island province. In 2024, it was recorded as the second strongest tropical cyclone in the world after Cyclone Beryl. It is named after the constellation Capricornus, the Japanese word for goat, and a mythical creature that is half goat, half fish. Schools, businesses and transport links were closed in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong, as well as airports in Vietnam before the typhoon made landfall. Scientists say hurricanes are getting stronger as the climate changes and are fueled by warming oceans. Last month, Typhoon Shanshan, one of the strongest storms in the region, hit southwestern Japan, killing seven people and causing widespread damage in many parts of the country.
