Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Vietnam in decades, has claimed the lives of 226 people, with 104 still missing, according to the government’s disaster management agency. The storm made landfall on Saturday with winds reaching 92 mph, triggering flash floods and landslides across the country.
The northern province of Lao Cai has been the hardest hit, with 98 confirmed deaths and 81 people still unaccounted for. In total, more than 800 people have been injured, as reported by Vietnam’s VNExpress newspaper.
Earlier this week, a flash flood wiped out the entire hamlet of Lang Nu in Lao Cai, and despite ongoing rescue efforts, 53 villagers remained missing as of Thursday.
Flooding in the capital city, Hanoi, has been the worst in 20 years, forcing widespread evacuations. While water levels from the Red River have slightly receded, many parts of the city are still submerged. People have been seen wading through knee-deep muddy waters, some abandoning their vehicles and others using small boats to navigate flooded streets.
Yagi weakened on Sunday, but heavy rains continued, keeping rivers dangerously high. Most of the fatalities have been caused by floods and landslides, particularly in Lao Cai, a region that borders China and is known for the popular trekking destination, Sapa.
In Phu Tho province, a steel bridge collapsed on Monday, plunging 10 cars, trucks, and two motorbikes into the Red River. Meanwhile, a landslide in the mountainous Cao Bang province swept a bus carrying 20 passengers into a flooded stream.
The impact of Typhoon Yagi has also been felt in neighboring Thailand, where at least two people have died, and hundreds were stranded after heavy rains triggered floods and mudslides in two northern provinces. Experts have linked the increasing intensity of storms like Typhoon Yagi to climate change, which warms ocean waters, providing more energy to fuel stronger winds and heavier rainfall.