HANOI, Sept 28 (Askume) – Typhoon Yagi, Asia’s strongest storm this year, has caused an estimated 81.5 trillion Vietnamese dong ($3.31 billion) in damage in northern Vietnam, state media said on Saturday, more than double previous estimates.
The storm killed 299 people, left 34 missing, and devastated an export-oriented industrial center, destroying factories and facilities, flooding farmland, damaging homes, and destroying a bridge.
“The total economic losses are initially estimated at more than 81.5 trillion dong, with landslides and floods causing the biggest losses,” Vietnam’s official news agency quoted Agriculture Minister Lim Huan as saying.
The figure is higher than a preliminary estimate of $1.6 billion set by the Planning Ministry this month and is likely to lower this year’s economic growth forecast of 6.8% to 7% by 0.15 percentage points.
Hohn urged authorities to help people resume production while ensuring supplies and keeping prices low, as agriculture and farmland are among the worst-hit sectors.
Pig prices in Vietnam have risen steadily since Typhoon Yagi and subsequent floods affected many pig farms, Askume reported.
The central bank’s stormy credit relief measures will hit Vietnamese banks’ profitability, rating agency S&P Global said on Thursday.
(1 USD=24,590.0000 Dong)
