Vietnamese authorities raised the death toll on Wednesday to 141 dead due to Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam, while Hanoi is on alert due to the risk of increased flooding from the rise of two rivers that flow through the capital.
Typhoon Yagi hit Vietnam on Saturday and was downgraded to a tropical depression on Sunday, but the storm continued to leave rains that caused severe floodinglandslides and falling trees in the north of the country. According to the latest emergency report cited by the Vietnamese government television (VTV), the majority of deaths are occurring in the provinces of Cao Bang, Lao Cai and Ten Bai, while only one death occurred in Hanoi.
The number of missing persons stands at 59, including eight people who fell into a river after crossing a bridge carrying vehicles in the northern province of Phu Tho on Monday, killing at least one person. More than 760 people have been injured and some 48,000 homes and 150,000 hectares of rice fields have been damaged. In flood-hit Hanoi, authorities fear the floods will further affect central districts due to the risk of the Red and Duong rivers bursting their banks.
No more rain
In a statement, local NGO Blue Dragon said it had to evacuate its Hanoi office due to flooding, but its teams were continuing to provide assistance to dozens of families and children affected by the storm in the north of the country. Although Tropical depression already out of Vietnam, Vietnam’s meteorological agency said on Facebook today that there would be more light to heavy rain and strong winds in the north of the country, where many affected villages are located in remote mountainous areas.
Emergency services continue to work to help the thousands of people affected and displaced by Yagi, which was the most powerful typhoon in Asia this year and reached Vietnam with wind gusts of up to 149 kilometers per hourBefore the typhoon hit, authorities evacuated some 50,000 people and nearly half a million troops were mobilized to help with emergency tasks.
En route to Vietnam, the typhoon passed through the Chinese island province of Hainan last Friday, where it killed at least two people and injured 92, and earlier crossed the northern Philippine island of Luzon, home to Manila, where emergency teams reported. 20 dead, 26 missing and 22 injured. Transformed into a tropical depression, the storm has been moving away towards Burma (Myanmar) in recent days.
