Super Typhoon Yagi Claims Four Lives in Vietnam Following Casualties in China and the Philippines, According to Reuters

By Minh Nguyen and Thinh Nguyen

HANOI/HAIPHONG – This year’s most powerful storm in Asia made landfall in northern Vietnam on Saturday, resulting in at least four fatalities after it impacted China’s Hainan Island and the Philippines.

Super Typhoon Yagi struck island districts in northern Vietnam around 1 p.m. local time, with winds reaching speeds of up to 160 kph near its center, having weakened from its peak of 234 kph in Hainan the previous day.

According to government reports, by 5 p.m. on Saturday, four individuals had died and 78 were injured due to the typhoon, with at least a dozen others reported missing at sea.

Yagi had already caused the deaths of two people in Hainan and 16 in the Philippines, where it first made landfall earlier in the week.

Haiphong, a coastal city and industrial center with a population of 2 million, experienced significant wind damage, with speeds reaching up to 90 kph. Authorities reported widespread power outages in the city and at least three other northern provinces as the storm approached.

In Haiphong, strong winds shattered windows, and sea waves soared to heights of three meters along the coast. Local media showcased images of metal roofing sheets being blown away, while the government indicated that thousands of trees were downed and many homes were damaged throughout northern Vietnam.

Earlier, in Hainan, the storm caused widespread disruption, uprooting trees, flooding streets, and leaving over 800,000 households without power.

In response to the approaching typhoon, Vietnamese authorities evacuated over 50,000 residents from coastal areas and deployed 450,000 military personnel for support.

Operations were halted for several hours at four airports on Saturday, including the busiest one in northern Vietnam, which led to the cancellation of more than 300 flights.

High schools were closed across 12 northern provinces, including the capital, Hanoi, which has a population of 8.5 million. Public transport on buses and the two elevated metro lines in the capital was also suspended, with officials warning of heavy flooding risks in the city center.

Residents expressed their concerns, with one noting the wind’s strength was capable of knocking a person over, while another commented on the severity of the storm.

Scientists attribute the increasing intensity of typhoons to warmer ocean temperatures driven by climate change.

Recently, Typhoon Shanshan also made headlines by striking southwestern Japan, marking it as one of the strongest storms to hit the country in decades.

The name Yagi comes from the Japanese word for goat, referencing the constellation of Capricornus.