Yagi, Asia's Fiercest Storm, Hits Vietnam; 4 Confirmed Dead

Photo : Reuters

Hanoi, Vietnam — Super Typhoon Yagi, the most powerful storm to strike Asia this year, made landfall in northern Vietnam on Saturday, causing widespread devastation and loss of life. According to government reports, by 5 pm local time, four people had been confirmed dead and 78 others injured due to the typhoon. Additionally, state media reported that at least a dozen people are missing at sea.

The typhoon, which hit the northern coastal areas around 1 p.m. local time, initially brought winds of up to 160 kph (99 mph), having weakened from its peak intensity of 234 kph (145 mph) experienced in Hainan the previous day. Yagi had already inflicted significant damage before reaching Vietnam, having claimed two lives in Hainan and 16 in the Philippines, the first country it struck.

In Vietnam, the coastal city of Haiphong bore the brunt of the storm. The industrial hub, home to approximately 2 million residents and major factories including those of foreign multinationals and local carmaker VinFast, faced severe winds reaching up to 90 kph. The storm caused widespread power outages, with authorities in Haiphong reporting that strong winds shattered windows and generated waves up to three meters high. Local media captured footage of metal roofing sheets being blown away and extensive tree fall, resulting in substantial damage to homes and infrastructure across northern Vietnam.

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The impact was felt throughout the region. In Hainan, the storm brought down trees, flooded roads, and cut power to more than 800,000 homes. In response to the typhoon, Vietnam executed a large-scale evacuation, relocating over 50,000 people from coastal areas and mobilizing 450,000 military personnel for emergency assistance.

Air travel was severely disrupted as operations were suspended at four major airports, including Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport, which is the busiest in the north. More than 300 flights were cancelled. Additionally, high schools across 12 northern provinces, including the capital city Hanoi, were closed. Public transport in Hanoi, including buses and the elevated metro lines, was suspended as the city braced for heavy flooding risks.

Residents of Hanoi experienced the storm's intensity firsthand. Nguyen Manh Quan, a 40-year-old local, described the winds as strong enough to blow a person over, while Dang Van Phuong, also 40, noted that he had never seen such a powerful storm, stating that driving in these conditions was impossible.

The increasing intensity of typhoons like Yagi is attributed to climate change, with warmer ocean temperatures exacerbating storm strength. This comes on the heels of Typhoon Shanshan, which struck southwestern Japan last week, marking the strongest storm to hit the country in decades.

Typhoon Yagi, named after the Japanese word for goat and the constellation Capricornus, underscores the growing severity of extreme weather events in the region