HANOI/HAI PHONGS, Sept 9 (Askume) – Typhoon Yagi, Asia’s most powerful storm this year, is heading west, leaving dozens of people dead and widespread damage to infrastructure and factories in northern Vietnam, the government initially predicted on Monday.
The Vietnamese government said the storm caused landslides and flooding, leaving 49 people dead and 22 missing.
The storm made landfall on Saturday on Vietnam’s northeastern coast, home to large manufacturing plants of domestic and foreign companies. It was downgraded to a tropical depression on Sunday , but the weather agency warned on Monday that further flooding and landslides were possible.
Yagi cut power to millions of homes and businesses, flooded highways, disrupted telecommunications networks, destroyed a medium-sized bridge and thousands of trees, and halted economic activity in several industrial centers.
Managers and workers at industrial parks and factories in Haiphong, a coastal city of 2 million, said on Monday they were without power and trying to save equipment from factories whose metal roofs had been blown off as more rain was expected.
“Everyone is working hard to make sure the sites are safe and the stocks are dry,” said Bruno Jaspert, head of the DEEP C industrial zone, which has more than 150 investments at the manufacturer’s factories in Haiphong and neighbouring Quang Ninh province.
A wall collapsed at a factory of South Korea’s LG Electronics (066570.KS) in Haiphong city .
LG Electronics, a leading home appliance and consumer electronics maker, said its production base was damaged but no workers were injured. A warehouse containing refrigerators and washing machines was said to have been flooded.
Asked about the storm’s impact on factories in South Korea’s coastal areas, Hong Sun, chairman of the Vietnam Korean Business Association, said “the damage has been heavy.”
The manager of a rental factory confirmed extensive roof damage and prolonged power outages in the northern province.
A bridge collapsed in Phu Tho province on Monday, officials said.
“This is usually a busy bridge and an important bridge in the province,” a senior official of the province’s transport department said, adding there were no reports of casualties.
Officials said preliminary investigation revealed that eight vehicles were on the bridge when it collapsed.
The weather agency warned that more floods and landslides were possible and said heavy rain and strong winds were expected on Monday in Hanoi, the capital of 8.5 million people.
State electricity provider EVN said more than 5.7 million customers were without power over the weekend after dozens of power lines were down, but power had been restored to about 75% of affected customers on Monday.
