Typhoon Kajiki kills three in Vietnam, floods Hanoi streets

Hanoi: Typhoon Kajiki killed at least three people and injured 10 others in Vietnam, authorities said on Tuesday as they warned that heavy rains could cause flooding and landslides.

Kajiki made landfall in central Vietnam with maximum sustained winds of 117 km/h, damaging nearly 7000 homes, inundating 28,800 hectares of rice plantings and felling 18,000 trees, the government said in a statement. It brought down 331 electricity poles, causing widespread blackouts in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho provinces.

One man in Nghe An province died on Friday after being electrocuted while trying to secure his roof ahead of the storm, state media reported.

Streets in the capital Hanoi were severely flooded as heavy rains fell on Tuesday morning, paralysing traffic. Cars were seen submerged up to their roofs in water.

Flood water also surrounded residential areas in the city, which is preparing to host the country’s largest National Day parade in decades next week as it celebrates the 80th anniversary of its founding.

Video clips on state media showed that water at the West Lake, the largest lake in Hanoi, has overflowed its bank, as rain continued to fall.

Several villages in Bac Ninh province have also been isolated due to flooding, state media reports said.

After making landfall on Vietnam’s north central coast on Monday afternoon, Kajiki has since weakened to a tropical depression as it moved across to Laos on Tuesday morning, the national weather agency said.

The agency warned that rains would continue in several parts of northern Vietnam, with some areas likely to get up to 150 millimetres in six hours, potentially causing flash floods and landslides.

“It’s terrifying,” said Dang Xuan Phuong, a 48-year-old resident of Cua Lo, a tourism town in Nghe An province directly hit by the storm.

“When I look down from the higher floors, I could see waves as tall as two metres, and the water has flooded the roads around us.”

Vietnam had earlier shut airports, closed schools, and begun mass evacuations as it prepared for the most powerful storm so far this year.

With a long coastline facing the South China Sea, Vietnam is prone to storms that are often deadly and trigger dangerous flooding and mudslides.

By early Monday, about 30,000 people had been evacuated from coastal areas. More than 16,500 soldiers and 107,000 paramilitary personnel had been mobilised to help with the evacuation and stand by for search and rescue.

Two airports in Thanh Hoa and Quang Binh provinces were still closed on Tuesday after flights were halted the day before.

Kajiki skirted the southern coast of China’s Hainan Island on Sunday as it moved toward Vietnam, forcing Sanya City on the island to close businesses and public transport on Sunday.

In Thailand, the Meteorological Department warned of heavy rain nationwide on Tuesday.

Residents in foothills and low-lying areas near waterways were warned about possible flash floods and landslides.

Reuters, AP

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