Thousands flee Vietnam as death toll from Typhoon Yagi rises to 127 | News

Authorities say 54 people are still missing as the typhoon threatens to destroy the capital Hanoi.

Tens of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes as Typhoon Yagi hit northern Vietnam, bringing the death toll from Asia's worst storm this year to 127.

At least 127 people have died in northern Vietnam due to landslides and floods triggered by the typhoon, and 54 others are missing, the disaster management agency said in its latest situation report on Tuesday.

Most of the victims died in landslides and flash floods, the agency said. 764 people were injured.

The typhoon reached the northeast coast of Vietnam on Saturday and devastated numerous industrial and residential areas. It had previously hit the Philippines and the southern Chinese island of Hainan.

More than 59,000 people were forced to flee their homes in Yen Bai province after floods inundated nearly 18,000 houses, local authorities said.

Floodwaters in the capital Hanoi have reached levels not seen since 2008, state media reported, citing a senior local official, and meteorologists warned that even higher water levels were expected in the city's historic centre.

“I have to leave everything behind because the water is rising too fast,” said Nguyen Thi Tham, a 60-year-old resident of the flood-prone area near the Red River in Hanoi, by phone. She could only take her dog with her.

She was one of several people evacuated by boat to safe accommodation early Tuesday morning. It was not immediately clear how many Hanoi residents had to be evacuated.

Several rivers in northern Vietnam have reached worrying levels, flooding villages and residential areas, according to disaster management authorities and state media.

A 30-year-old bridge over the Red River in the northern province of Phu Tho collapsed on Monday, leaving eight people missing.

According to state media reports, authorities across the north banned or restricted traffic on other bridges over the river on Tuesday, including the Chuong Duong Bridge, one of the largest in Hanoi.

“The water level of the Red River is rising rapidly,” the government said in a post on its Facebook account on Tuesday.

Warning by loudspeaker

Using loudspeakers that have historically broadcast communist propaganda, officials warned residents of the capital's riverside district of Long Bien to watch for possible flooding and be prepared to evacuate the area.

Other northern areas, including the industrial centers of Bac Giang and Thai Nguyen, were also affected by severe flooding, state media reported. It was initially unclear whether Samsung Electronics and Apple supplier Foxconn, based in Thai Nguyen and Bac Giang respectively, were affected.

The government also announced that evacuations would take place from flood-prone areas in Bac Giang province, where the typhoon and floods have caused damage estimated at 300 billion dong ($12.1 million).

More than 4,600 soldiers have been deployed in the province to assist with the evacuation and assist flood victims.

The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry asked China to inform it in advance about the release of backwater upstream.

According to the disaster management agency, at least 19 people were killed and 36 missing in Lao Cai province, most of them due to landslides.

The government has not yet provided estimates of the extent of damage caused by the typhoon, but residents of the coastal cities of Haiphong and Quang Ninh, where the storm first hit Vietnam, said they had “lost everything.”

According to the agency, the floods in northern Vietnam also inundated 162,828 hectares (402,357 acres) and 29,543 hectares (73,002 acres) of commercial fields and damaged nearly 50,000 houses.