Death toll from typhoon in Vietnam rises to 233, more bodies found

HANOI, Vietnam — The death toll from a typhoon in Vietnam rose to 233 on Friday as rescue workers recovered more bodies from areas affected by landslides and flash floods, state media reported.

Although the Red River in the capital Hanoi receded somewhat, many parts of the city were still under water, and further north experts predicted it could be days before relief was in sight.

Typhoon Yagi hit the country on Saturday, ushering in a week of heavy rains that triggered flash floods and landslides, especially in the mountainous north of Vietnam.

Across Vietnam, 103 people are still missing and more than 800 have been injured.

The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, said that the storm and its aftermath also damaged around 550 health facilities, 800 schools and over 100,000 houses, and that more than three million people no longer had access to clean drinking water.

The company said it was working with the government and other partners to provide water bottles, purification tablets, filtration systems and other emergency supplies to the worst-affected areas.

Most of the deaths occurred in Lao Cai province, where a flash flood swept away the entire village of Lang Nu on Tuesday. Eight villagers were able to return unharmed on Friday morning and told others they had left the village before the flood, the state-run VNExpress newspaper reported. However, 48 other Lang Nu residents were found dead and another 39 are still missing.

The roads to Lang Nu were so badly damaged that it was impossible to use heavy equipment for rescue operations.

About 500 people with sniffer dogs are on site and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh promised during a visit to the site on Thursday that the search for those still missing would not let up.

“Their families are suffering from great fear,” Chinh said.

In preparation for the worst, coffins were stacked near the accident site and villager Tran Thi Ngan mourned the family members she had lost at a makeshift altar.

“It's a disaster,” she told VTV News. “This is the fate we have to accept.”

In Cao Bang, another northern province bordering China, 21 bodies had been recovered by Friday, four days after a landslide sent a bus, a car and several motorcycles into a small river swollen by floodwaters. Ten other people are still missing.

Following Yagi, the strongest typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades, Australia has already begun providing humanitarian aid as part of a $2 million support operation.

South Korea has also pledged $2 million in humanitarian aid and the U.S. Embassy said Friday it would provide $1 million in assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

“With further heavy rains forecast in the coming days, USAID disaster experts continue to monitor humanitarian needs in close coordination with local emergency authorities and partners on the ground,” the embassy said in a statement. “USAID humanitarian experts on the ground are participating in ongoing assessments to ensure U.S. assistance is reaching populations in need quickly.”

Experts say storms like Typhoon Yagi are becoming more severe due to climate change because warmer ocean waters are providing them with more energy, leading to stronger winds and heavier rainfall.

The typhoon and subsequent heavy rains have damaged factories in northern provinces such as Haiphong, home of electric car maker VinFast, as well as Apple parts suppliers and other electronics manufacturers, which could disrupt international supply chains, said a research note from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“Although 95 percent of businesses operating in Haiphong were expected to resume at least some of their operations on September 10, repair work will likely reduce production in the coming weeks and months,” CSIS said.

_____

Rising reported from Bangkok.