At least three people lost their lives, and 10 others sustained injuries in Vietnam due to Typhoon Kajiki, authorities said on Tuesday. Officials have cautioned that heavy rainfall may lead to flooding and landslides in the affected areas.
Typhoon Kajiki unleashed torrential rains across the north central coast of Vietnam on Monday, toppling trees and inundating homes with wind speed easing to 118-133 kph from as strong as 166 kph, according to the country’s weather agency.
Thousands Of Homes Damaged
The storm damaged nearly 7,000 homes, inundated 28,800 hectares of rice plantings and felled 18,000 trees, the government said in a statement. It also brought down 331 electricity poles, causing widespread blackouts in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho provinces.
Photos on state media showed streets in the capital Hanoi were severely flooded as heavy rains fell on Tuesday morning.
Weakens After Deadly Landfall
State media reported that power outages, damaged roofs, and destroyed floating fishing farms were seen in several parts of Ha Tinh province, as Vietnam had earlier shut airports, closed schools, and carried out mass evacuations in preparation for the year’s most powerful storm.
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.
Flash Flood Alert
The agency warned that heavy rains — up to 150 millimetres in six hours — would persist across northern Vietnam, potentially triggering flash floods and landslides, as the government had earlier described Kajiki as “an extremely dangerous fast-moving storm” expected to bring severe weather conditions.
Before making landfall in Vietnam, Kajiki skirted the southern coast of China’s Hainan Island on Sunday, forcing Sanya City on the island to close businesses and public transport.
(With Inputs from Reuters)
