The death toll from Typhoon Yagi has risen to 152 in Vietnam, as one of the country’s largest rivers, the Red River, reaches its highest level in two decades, flooding parts of Hanoi, according to government estimates.
By Wednesday, floodwaters in the capital had reached a meter high in some areas, forcing residents to use boats to move through their neighborhoods.
Thousands have evacuated from low-lying parts of the city, and ten out of Hanoi’s thirty administrative districts are now under “flood alert,” according to state media.
Floods and landslides caused by the typhoon in northern Vietnam have been the main drivers of the fatalities.
“This is the worst flood I have seen,” shared Tran Le Quyen, a Hanoi resident, with Reuters. “It was dry yesterday morning. Now the entire street is flooded. We couldn’t sleep last night.”
Initially classified as a super typhoon, equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, Yagi was later downgraded to a tropical depression.
Despite this, it has continued to cause widespread damage since making landfall in Vietnam on Saturday. The storm has been described as the most powerful typhoon to hit Asia this year.
“My home is now part of the river,” said Nguyen Van Hung, a resident near the banks of the Red River.
In northern Lao Cai province, an entire village was swept away by flash floods on Tuesday, with at least 25 confirmed dead. Hundreds of soldiers have been dispatched to assist in the search for those still missing.
Authorities are closely monitoring a hydropower plant in the northwestern Yen Bai province, where a significant inflow of water into the surrounding reservoir has raised concerns about the dam’s stability.
Although Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep assured the public that the plant is “safe,” he urged local residents to remain sheltered, noting that it could take up to two days for water levels to recede.
Yagi has left a trail of devastation across northern Vietnam over the past four days. On Monday, it collapsed a busy bridge, sending ten cars and two scooters into the Red River.
The typhoon also tore roofs from buildings, uprooted trees, and caused severe damage to infrastructure and factories.
Before hitting Vietnam, Yagi claimed 24 lives in southern China and the Philippines.
Scientists have warned that rising global temperatures could lead to stronger typhoons with higher wind speeds and more intense rainfall, though the influence of climate change on individual storms remains complex.
Source-BBC
