Yagi hits Vietnam with deadly force as second most powerful typhoon of 2024

At least four people have been killed and 78 injured by Typhoon Yagi after it made landfall in the north of the country on Saturday afternoon, Vietnamese authorities said.

Yagi, described by Vietnamese meteorological officials as “one of the most powerful typhoons in the region in the past decade”, hit the Southeast Asian country after killing three people and injuring nearly 100 in China’s Hainan province.

The typhoon made landfall in Vietnam’s coastal provinces of Quang Ninh and Haiphong with winds of up to 149 km/h (93 mph), state media reported. Strong winds felled a tree before it made landfall, killing a woman in the capital Hanoi, local media reported Saturday.

Quang Ninh is home to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Halong Bay, known for its many towering limestone islands. Hundreds of cruises were canceled at the popular location before the typhoon made landfall, according to local media. Haiphong is an industrial hub, home to major factories including EV maker VinFast and Apple supplier Pegatron.

Yagi, the second most powerful tropical cyclone of the year, also caused power outages in large parts of Quang Ninh and Thai Binh provinces.

Earlier, the government issued multiple warnings and evacuated those vulnerable to flooding or landslides. Four airports were closed, including those in Hanoi and Haiphong.

Authorities pruned trees in Hanoi to make them less likely to fall, but wind and rain toppled several, along with billboards in northern cities. Local media reported that many moored boats were swept out to sea.

Chinese province of Hainan hit

Yagi struck the Chinese city of Wenchang in Hainan province on Friday afternoon with winds of up to 245 km/h (150 mph) near the center. Authorities said the typhoon had killed three people and injured at least 95 others, and affected more than 1.2 million people as of Saturday afternoon, local newspaper Global Times reported.

About 420,000 Hainan residents were displaced before the typhoon made landfall. Another half million people in Guangdong province were evacuated before Yagi made a second landfall in Xuwen county on Friday evening.

Meanwhile, the Haikou City Meteorological Observatory lowered its typhoon signal from red to orange on Saturday as the typhoon continued to move further away.

Before leaving Hong Kong, Yagi forced more than 270 people to seek refuge in temporary government shelters on Friday, and more than 100 flights in the city were canceled because of the typhoon. Heavy rain and strong winds toppled dozens of trees and halted stock market trading, banking services and schools.

Yagi was still a storm when it roared into the South China Sea from the northwest Philippines on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and leaving 26 missing, most of whom were lost in landslides and widespread flooding. More than 2.3 million people in the northern and central provinces were affected.

More than 82,200 people were displaced from their homes in the Philippine provinces. Education, work, inter-island ferries and domestic flights were disrupted for days, including in the densely populated capital Manila.

Warm ocean waters are fueling storms. As waters warm due to climate change, a UN climate change report warns that severe typhoons are becoming more common, especially in Southeast Asia.