Hanoi, 10 September 2024 (dpa/MIA) – Landslides and widespread flooding triggered by typhoon Yagi have killed more than 100 people in Vietnam, with over 130 still missing, authorities said on Tuesday as recovery and relief efforts continue.

At least 16 people were killed in a mountainous province in northern Vietnam when severe flash floods unleashed by the storm destroyed an entire village, local officials told the Tuoi Tre newspaper.

All 35 houses of Lang Nu village in Lao Cai province were swept away, it said.

Local rescue forces were able to reach the remote village, previously home to 128 people, at around 12 GMT Tuesday. They recovered the bodies of 16 victims and rescued 30 injured villagers. At least 70 others are still missing.

Typhoon Yagi - the strongest to strike northern Vietnam in around 30 years - swept across the region on Saturday, bringing ferocious winds and torrential rain. Some localities such as Thai Nguyen, Lao Cai and Yen Bai provinces have seen rainfall of up to 50 centimetres in the past 48 hours.

It is the typhoon's aftermath that has proved especially deadly, with multiple landslides reported as heavy rains continue, the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority said in a report.

Nineteen deaths were recorded in the mountainous northern province of Cao Bang and 36 people are still missing. In Cao Bang, a 16-seater bus was buried by a landslide. Local authorities have found two bodies and are searching for 15 missing.

Landslides in Yen Bai province killed 22 people and left six others missing in the aftermath of the super storm.

In Phu Tho province, two hours north-west of Hanoi, at least three lorries, two cars and numerous motorbikes plunged into the Red River after a bridge collapsed.

Across northern Vietnam, Yagi damaged more than 46,000 houses. Numerous stores, buildings and schools had their roofs blown off, while hundreds of thousands of trees were uprooted across the country's northern provinces.

The storm killed nearly 700,000 poultry and cattle and inundated almost 150,000 hectares of rice paddy fields. It also sunk at least 85 ships and destroyed nearly 1,600 fisheries.

Heavy rains have also persisted in the Vietnamese capital. The Red River has reached its highest level in 16 years, flooding nearby areas and forcing the evacuation of nearly 500 families as of Tuesday morning, the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority reported.

Water levels continue to rise in many localities in northern Vietnam, causing widespread flooding. In many places, floodwater has risen up to 2 metres, forcing people to seek shelter on rooftops.

Many areas are isolated by the floods, and rescue forces are trying to reach them by boat to provide food and take them to safety.

With heavy rains expected on Tuesday and Wednesday, the authorities have warned that further flooding and landslides could occur, especially in mountainous provinces.

Photo: EPA