Typhoon Yagi leaves more than 60 dead, dozens missing in Vietnam

HANOI: Floods have inundated Vietnam’s north, including the capital Hanoi, as the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi continues to extract a deadly toll.
Landslides and floods triggered by the typhoon have killed at least 65 people and 39 others are missing in the north, the disaster management agency said on Tuesday (Sep 10) in its latest update on the situation.
Most of the victims were killed in landslides and flash floods, the agency said in a report, adding that 752 people have been injured.
Yagi, the most powerful typhoon to hit northern Vietnam in 30 years, downed bridges, tore roofs off buildings and damaged factories after making landfall on Saturday carrying winds in excess of 149kmh.
The north of Vietnam – densely populated and a major manufacturing hub for global tech firms including Samsung and Foxconn – is now battling serious flooding, with several communities partially underwater.
In Hanoi, communities along the swollen and fast-moving Red River, which flows through the capital, were also partially underwater, with people forced to evacuate in boats.
Downtown Hoan Kiem District was forced to relocate 460 people on Tuesday.
“Water levels on the Red River are rising rapidly,” the government said on Tuesday in a post on its Facebook account.
Using public loudspeakers commonly used to broadcast Communist propaganda in the past, officials warned residents of the capital’s riverside Long Bien district to be on alert for possible flooding, and to be ready to evacuate the area.
Authorities are already evacuating residents from flood-prone areas in Bac Giang province, the government said, where the typhoon and floods have caused damage estimated for now to be worth 300 billion dong (US$12.1 million).
More than 4,600 soldiers have been deployed in the province to support the evacuation and support flood victims.
A 30-year-old bridge over the Red River in the northern province of Phu Tho collapsed on Monday, leaving eight missing, according to a statement from the provincial People’s Committee.
Reports said 10 cars and trucks along with two motorbikes fell into the river. 
Pham Truong Son, 50, a survivor of the bridge collapse, said he was driving on the bridge on his motorcycle when he heard a loud noise.
Before he knew what was happening, he was falling into the river. Son said he managed to swim and hold on to a drifting banana tree to stay afloat before he was rescued.
Authorities subsequently banned or limited traffic on other bridges across the river, including Chuong Duong Bridge, one of the largest in Hanoi, according to state media reports.
One-storey homes in parts of Thai Nguyen and Yen Bai cities were almost completely submerged in the early hours of Tuesday, with residents waiting on the roofs for help.
Rescue forces were trying to reach residential areas to retrieve old people and children. On social media, relatives of those stuck in floodwater posted desperate pleas for help and supplies.
Phan Thi Tuyet, 50, who lives close to the river, said she had never experienced such high water.
“I have lost everything, all gone. I had to come to higher ground to save our lives. We can not bring with us any of the furniture. Everything is underwater now.”
At least 24 people were killed as Yagi tore through southern China and the Philippines before hitting Vietnam.
Typhoons in the region are forming closer to the coast, intensifying more rapidly, and staying over land longer due to climate change, according to a study published in July.