Typhoon Yagi has caused severe damage to many factories and flooded warehouses in northern Vietnam’s export-oriented industrial hubs.
Executives say that shuttered plants will need weeks to return to full operation.
Loss Of Lives And Infrastructure Damage
Asia’s strongest typhoon continued to cause deadly floods and landslides, killing dozens and ravaging infrastructure.
After it hit the coast on the weekend, power networks and roads were badly affected.
The disruptions could affect global supply chains.
Notably, Vietnam hosts large operations of multinationals that mostly export their products to the United States, Europe and other developed countries.
“Many of them are gone with the wind,” said Calvin Nguyen, head of Vietnamese logistics firm WeDo Forwarding Co.
Calvin was referring to products that had to be delivered to the United States and the European Union
Roofs Blown Off
Calvin said that the company’s three warehouses in the coastal city of Haiphong were still flooded.
Even the roofs were blown off.
The industry ministry did not reply to a request for comment.
Haiphong is one of the areas worst hit by the typhoon.
The body managing its industrial zones said that 95% of businesses were expected to resume some activity by Tuesday.
In industrial zones hosting factories in Haiphong and the neighbouring province of Quang Ninh, 20 of 150 investors’ plants will be out of service for at least a few weeks.
Bruno Jaspaert, head of the zones made the aforesaid assessment.
He expected power consumption there to stay a third below normal for weeks or months, as many companies were busy rebuilding damaged factories.
Among those hit was Jupiter Logistics, part of a group co-owned by Japan Airlines Co Ltd, said one official familiar with the survey.
Damage to Jupiter’s warehouse was minor, a spokesperson for JAL said on Thursday.
In another industrial park in Haiphong, South Korea’s LG Electronics said it had partly resumed work on Tuesday.
Power Cuts
As state-owned power distributor EVN works to restore dozens of damaged electricity lines, power outages are still crippling several areas in the north.
In Quang Ninh, north of Haiphong, many factories still lacked electricity or water, Jaspaert said.
Damage In Jinko Solar’s Factory
A worker of Chinese solar panel maker Jinko Solar’s factory reported severe damage in the factory.
Jinko officials were not immediately available to comment.
Industrial Hubs Of Thai Nguyen And Bac Giang, Also At Risk
Far from the coast, the industrial hubs of Thai Nguyen and Bac Giang, home to large factories of multinationals, such as Samsung Electronics and Apple supplier Foxconn, also faced the risk of floods.
However, a Reuters witness said there were no signs of flooding on Wednesday at Samsung’s large facilities in Thai Nguyen, about 60 km (37 miles) north of Hanoi.
(With Inputs From Reuters)
