HANOI, Sept 11 (Askume) – Typhoon Yagi caused heavy damage to many factories in Vietnam’s northern export-oriented industrial hub, flooding warehouses. Officials said some of the shut plants could take several weeks to be fully operational.
Asia’s most powerful typhoon this year continued to wreak deadly floods and landslides on Wednesday, killing dozens of people and damaging infrastructure such as power grids and roads after the storm hit the coast over the weekend.
These disruptions could impact global supply chains, as multinational companies have large operations in Vietnam and export their products mainly to the United States, Europe and other developed countries.
“Many of them have disappeared with the wind,” said Kelvin Nguyen, head of Vietnamese logistics company Wido Forwarding Co. He mentioned products destined for the United States and the European Union but did not say where.
He said the roofs of three of the company’s warehouses in the coastal city of Haiphong were blown off on Wednesday and were still filled with water.
The industry ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
In Haiphong, one of the areas worst hit by the typhoon, 95% of businesses were expected to resume some activity on Tuesday, the industrial zone management agency said.
“Several businesses had their roofs blown off, some walls collapsed, gates, fences, signs, camera systems, garages and sliding metal doors were overturned, and factories were flooded,” the company said on its website.
Bruno Jaspert, head of the industrial zone in Hai Phong city and neighbouring Quang Ninh province, said about 20 of investors’ 150 factories would be closed for at least a few weeks.
Power consumption is expected to remain at one-third of normal levels for weeks or even months as many companies struggle to rebuild damaged factories, he said, citing damage surveys.
The biggest loser was Jupiter Logistics, part of a group jointly owned by Japan Airlines Co Ltd (9201.T), an official familiar with the investigation said. However, Jupiter Logistics was not immediately available for comment.
At another industrial park in Hai Phong city, South Korea’s LG Electronics (066570.KS) said it had partially resumed production on Tuesday after a factory wall collapsed on Saturday and destroyed a warehouse for refrigerators and washing machines.
Power outage
State-owned electricity distributor EVN is working to restore dozens of damaged power lines, but power is still out in many areas of the north.
Jaspert said several factories in Quang Ninh province, north of Haiphong, were still without power or water.
A factory of Chinese solar panel maker Jinksolar (688223.SS) was badly damaged, with windows shattered and the roof blown off, making it impossible to resume work on Tuesday, a worker said.
JinkoSolar officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Also facing threats are the industrial hubs off the coast in Thai Nguyen and Bac Giang provinces, where multinational companies such as Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and Apple (AAPL.O) supplier Foxconn (005930.KS) have large factories. . .
However, a Askume witness said it was about 60 kilometres from Hanoi. There were no signs of flooding at Samsung’s huge factory in northern Thai Nguyen province (37 miles away) as floodwaters receded on Wednesday, but more rain was expected.
