Super Typhoon Yagi, the fiercest storm to hit Asia this year, unleashed its devastating power upon northern Vietnam, leaving at least four people dead in its wake. With wind speeds reaching a staggering 203 km/h (126 mph), Yagi tore through the provinces of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh early Saturday, battering the region with merciless force… The Indo-Pacific Tropical Cyclone Warning Center confirmed the storm’s intensity as it made landfall, and the destruction followed swiftly.
🇨🇳🇻🇳🌀The name of the super typhoon “Yagi,” which is currently hitting Hong Kong and Vietnam hard, is derived from the Japanese word for goat/Capricorn. pic.twitter.com/hZheUroTff
— kouji (@yoyonofukuoka) September 7, 2024
In its path, Yagi left behind a trail of collapsed structures and uprooted trees, causing widespread chaos. Northern Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, was particularly hard-hit—power outages blanketed parts of the city after falling trees and flying debris damaged power lines and vehicles. Reports from state media paint a grim picture: three lives lost in Quang Ninh province, another in Hai Duong near Hanoi, and dozens injured, with some 78 people thought to be suffering from storm-related injuries. Even more troubling, a dozen fishermen remain unaccounted for, feared lost at sea…
Hai Phong, a bustling coastal city of two million people, bore the brunt of the storm. Metal sheets and signboards became airborne hazards, flying across streets as residents sought refuge indoors. Power outages brought daily life to a standstill—schools across twelve northern provinces, including Hanoi, shut their doors, and airports in the region suspended operations throughout the day. In all, nearly 50,000 people were evacuated from coastal areas in Vietnam, with authorities urging residents to stay sheltered as the storm roared on.
Yagi’s wrath wasn’t confined to Vietnam. Just a day earlier, the storm ravaged China’s Hainan island—a tourist hotspot often likened to Hawaii—leaving at least three dead and injuring nearly 100. Authorities in China had taken drastic measures ahead of the typhoon’s arrival, evacuating some 400,000 people from Hainan. Trains, boats, and flights were canceled, while power outages affected around 830,000 homes… Crops were wiped out, adding further devastation to an already battered landscape. Images shared on Chinese social media showed scenes of utter chaos—windows blown out of towering buildings, and streets submerged by floodwaters.
Many trucks and containers drive very slowly to block the wind for motorbikes to cross the bridge during super typhoon #YAGI in #Vietnam. Touching. Wish everyone safety. pic.twitter.com/MfkA7AuF8J
— Phan Kim Thanh ⁷ ( ´･ω･) ~ Ꮚ ( •᷄ɞ•᷅ ) (@Alzheimer_13) September 7, 2024
As the storm pushed inland, Vietnam’s meteorological agency recorded wind speeds still howling at 102 km/h (63 mph) by late Saturday. Yagi’s eye hovered southwest of Hanoi, expected to reach northern Laos by Sunday evening. The relentless rain showed no signs of letting up, with Hai Phong and Quang Ninh already drenched by over 20cm of rainfall since the day began. Hanoi itself was caught in the grip of torrential downpours, forcing residents to take shelter wherever they could—under bridges, inside vehicles, desperate to avoid the whipping winds and sheets of rain.
In the midst of the storm, a two-story house in Hanoi collapsed… though it had been in the process of demolition, leaving no one inside at the time of the collapse. For many residents like Dang Van Phuong, the storm was unlike anything they’d ever seen. “You can’t drive in these winds,” Phuong remarked to Reuters, summing up the perilous conditions faced by thousands.
Yagi’s fury wasn’t a one-off event—it had already wreaked havoc earlier in the week as it made its way through northern Philippines, doubling in strength as it approached Vietnam. There, floods and landslides claimed at least 13 lives and displaced thousands of people… The storm’s trajectory continues to leave a wake of destruction, its impact felt across multiple nations.
Let us see #Typhoon #Yagi frome invest to super typhoon landfall Vietnam pic.twitter.com/w3KIFwiLe9
— weatherson (@112babyboy) September 7, 2024
Super typhoons like Yagi are nature’s most ferocious storms, equivalent to Category 5 hurricanes. And they’re becoming more frequent, more violent. Scientists point to the growing influence of climate change—warmer oceans fuel these storms, feeding them with more energy, resulting in stronger winds and heavier rainfall. A warmer atmosphere, in turn, holds more moisture, which translates into storms that bring more devastation than ever before…
The human toll of these powerful storms continues to rise, and Yagi’s rampage serves as yet another grim reminder of nature’s fury—and the unpredictable dangers it holds in an increasingly warming world.
Major Points
- Super Typhoon Yagi, with wind speeds of 203 km/h (126 mph), slammed into northern Vietnam, causing widespread destruction.
- At least four people were killed, including three in Quang Ninh province and one near Hanoi, while dozens more were injured.
- Hai Phong, a coastal city, was hit hardest, with power outages, flying debris, and significant structural damage.
- Nearly 50,000 people were evacuated as schools and airports across northern provinces shut down, while rescue operations continued for missing fishermen.
- Yagi’s destruction followed earlier havoc in China’s Hainan island and the Philippines, highlighting the increasing frequency of powerful storms fueled by climate change.
Conner T – Reprinted with permission of Whatfinger News
