Typhoon Yagi, Asia’s most powerful storm this year, struck northern Vietnam over the weekend, leaving at least 24 people dead and 299 injured. The typhoon made landfall on the country’s northeastern coast on Saturday, triggering widespread landslides and flooding, the government reported.
The storm, which has severely disrupted power supplies and telecommunications in several regions, particularly Quang Ninh and Haiphong—has caused extensive damage. The government issued a statement on Sunday, warning that the risk of further flooding and landslides remains high.
The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting reported that rainfall in the affected areas ranged between 208mm and 433mm (8.2in to 17.1in) over the past 24 hours. “Floods and landslides are damaging the environment and threatening people’s lives,” the center stated, with high-risk areas identified in the provinces of Lang Son, Cao Bang, Yen Bai, and Thai Nguyen.
Yagi weakened to a tropical depression on Sunday, but not before inflicting significant damage. In Hoa Binh province, a family of four was killed when a hillside collapsed onto their home. Elsewhere, six people, including a newborn and a one-year-old, died in a landslide in the Hoang Lien Son mountains, triggered by heavy rains and high winds.
In Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO world heritage site, 30 vessels sank due to strong winds and waves, while nearly 3,300 houses and over 120,000 hectares of crops were damaged across northern Vietnam. Before reaching Vietnam, Typhoon Yagi also wreaked havoc in southern China and the Philippines, causing additional fatalities and injuries.
The increased frequency and severity of typhoons in the region have been linked to climate change, with storms forming closer to the coast, intensifying more rapidly, and remaining over land for longer periods, according to a study published in July.
