Australia sends $3 million in aid to Vietnam as death toll from Yagi rises over 200

Hanoi: More than 200 people have died in Vietnam in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi and more than 100 are missing as flash floods and landslides take their toll, state media reported on Thursday. Australia is providing $3 million in emergency aid to Hanoi.

The death toll in Vietnam has risen to 226, with 104 missing, the government’s disaster management agency said.

Rescue officers carry people on boat in a flooded street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi.Credit: nna\yashee.sharma

Vietnam’s VNExpress newspaper reported that more than 800 people had been injured.

The northern province of Lao Cai has suffered the heaviest casualties, with 98 dead and 81 missing, the government agency said in a report.

In the capital, floodwaters from the Red River receded slightly, but many areas were still inundated with water that was neck-high in some places.

In Hanoi’s Tay Ho district, people waded through muddy brown water above their knees to make their way along one street, some still wearing their bicycle and motorcycle helmets after abandoning their vehicles along the way.

A flood triggered by Typhoon Yagi submerges houses in Phu Tho province, Vietnam.Credit: AP

A few paddled along the road in small boats as empty water bottles, a Styrofoam cooler and other flotsam drifted by; one man pushed his motorbike toward drier ground in an aluminum sloop.

Pedestrians pulled up their shorts as high as possible to avoid being soaked by the wake caused by a delivery truck powering its way through the water.

Bakery owner Mai Anh evacuated the area with her family to shelter with her parents, but returned on Thursday to check on her shop and found more than half a metre of water still inside.

“I can’t do business with the flood like this,” she said. “The goods in my shop are all destroyed.”

The flooding in Hanoi has been reportedly the worst in two decades.

Residents started evacuating the area on Tuesday as the floodwater rose, and power and drinking water have been cut since Wednesday.

The floodwater damaged the doors to Hoang Anh Tu’s home, from which he operates a beer shop. Though he and his family were able to relocate to his parents’ house, they have had to take turns guarding the building.

“It’s very difficult,” he said. “We haven’t even been able to assess the damage because the flood came so fast.”

Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit the South-East Asian country in decades. It made landfall Saturday with winds of up to 149km/h. Despite weakening on Sunday, downpours continued and rivers remain dangerously high.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Thursday said it was providing $3 million in humanitarian relief, emergency supplies and other essential services in response. It said a Royal Australian Air Force transport aircraft had already delivered essential provisions such as shelters and hygiene kits on Wednesday night.

Hundreds of rescue personnel worked tirelessly through Wednesday to search for survivors, but by Thursday morning, 53 villagers remained missing, VNExpress reported, while seven more bodies were found, bringing the death toll there to 42.

On Monday, a bridge collapsed and a bus was swept away by flooding, killing dozens of people.

The steel bridge in Phu Tho province over the engorged Red River collapsed, sending 10 cars and trucks, along with two motorbikes, into the river. The bus carrying 20 people was swept into a flooded stream by a landslide in mountainous Cao Bang province.

Experts say storms like Typhoon Yagi are getting stronger due to climate change, as warmer ocean waters provide more energy to fuel them, which leads to higher winds and heavier rainfall.

AP, Reuters

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