HANOI - Asia’s most powerful storm this year made landfall in northern Vietnam on Saturday, killing at least four people after tearing through the Chinese island of Hainan and the Philippines.
Super Typhoon Yagi hit island districts of north Vietnam around 1pm, generating winds of up to 160 kph (99 mph) near its centre, having lost power from its peak of 234 kph (145 mph) in Hainan a day earlier.
The government said that as of 5pm four people had died and 78 had been injured by the typhoon. At least another dozen were missing at sea, according to state media.
Yagi had already claimed the lives of at least two people in Hainan and 16 people in the Philippines, the first country it hit, having formed east of the archipelago earlier in the week.
The storm uprooted thousands of trees in northern Vietnam and swept ships and boats out to sea.
The coastal city of Haiphong, an industrial hub with a population of 2 million that hosts factories from foreign multinationals and the local carmaker VinFast, is so far among the hardest hit by the winds.
Metal roof sheets and commercial sign boards were seen flying across the city sky as the typhoon hit.
Further inland in Hai Duong province, a man was killed in the street after heavy winds brought down a tree as the storm approached landfall, according to state media reports.
The wind smashed buildings’ glass windows and broke tree branches, according to a Reuters witness in Haiphong. City streets were deserted as citizens heeded authorities’ calls to stay indoors.
Earlier in Hainan, which has a population of more than 10 million, the storm knocked down trees, flooded roads and cut power to more than 800,000 homes.
The island province of more than 10 million people remained in a state of paralysis early Saturday, with emergency workers only starting to clear debris, uprooted trees and overturned vehicles.
Airports closed
Vietnam has evacuated nearly 50,000 people from coastal towns and deployed 450,000 military personnel, the government said.
It also suspended operations for several hours at four airports on Saturday, including Noi Bai in Hanoi, the busiest in the north, cancelling more than 300 flights.
High schools were also closed in 12 northern provinces, including in Hanoi.
The lightning, rain and violent winds that hit Hainan also caused 92 to be injured, Chinese state media said on Saturday, citing local authorities.
Yagi formed over the sea to the east of the Philippine archipelago on Sept 1. Gaining strength, it became a tropical storm and swept across Luzon, the most populous island in the Philippines, killing at least 16 people and injuring 13.
The storm grew dramatically stronger late in the week, becoming the world's most powerful tropical cyclone in 2024 after the Category 5 Atlantic hurricane Beryl, and the most severe in the Pacific basin this year.
Typhoons are becoming stronger, fuelled by warmer oceans, amid climate change, scientists say. Last week, Typhoon Shanshan slammed into southwestern Japan, the strongest storm to hit the country in decades.
Yagi is named after the Japanese word for goat and the constellation of Capricornus.