Typhoon Yagi causes at least four deaths and scores more injured in Vietnam

At least four people were killed and over 78 injured, according to state-run media, as typhoon Yagi made landfall in Vietnam on Saturday. Tens of thousands were also forced to leave due to the storm's strong winds and torrential rain. Three people were killed when the typhoon hit southern China earlier.

After weakening from its maximum speed of 234 kph (145 mph) in Hainan the day before, Super Typhoon Yagi made landfall in island districts of north Vietnam at 1 p.m. (0600 GMT), with gusts reaching up to 160 kph (99 mph) near its center.

Four people had killed and 78 had been injured by the typhoon as of 5 p.m., according to the administration. State media said that a minimum of twelve more people went missing at sea.

Typhoon Yagi was the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 230 km/h (140 mph). It was the second most powerful tropical cyclone of 2024 globally, with only Category 5 hurricane Beryl from the Atlantic.

All of the deaths and injuries recorded by state broadcaster CCTV have been traced back to the Chinese vacation island of Hainan, where this typhoon made landfall for the first time in ten years.

According to CCTV, local officials stated that "the damage and impact of this typhoon were beyond imagination, causing huge losses to people's lives and property."

Following its impact with China, Hurricane Yagi weakened a little before intensifying once again to become a Category 4 storm.

Following its initial impact in the southwest of China's Guangdong province, it made another landfall in neighboring Vietnam on Saturday afternoon, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Hanoi.

The strength of the storm's winds in Hanoi uprooted trees and broke off a factory's roof. Local authorities advised locals to stay inside after at least two individuals were killed by fallen trees, according to state media. Official media blamed the storm for yet another fatality.

Public transportation in Hanoi was also halted on Saturday, according to press reports, while the nation's Civil Aviation Authority canceled scheduled flights at four airports.

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that on Saturday night, the storm proceeded inland into the northwest provinces of Vietnam, passing the city of Hai Duong and getting closer to the capital, Hanoi.

According to Vietnam's national forecasting agency, waves in coastal areas might still reach as high as 13 feet, and even higher in the Gulf of Tonkin. Over 48,000 residents of susceptible locations were evacuated by authorities from a number of coastal cities, according to reports from official media.

Scientists have discovered that storm intensification is accelerating due to hotter oceans brought on by the climate crisis caused by human activity. Yagi was a tropical storm two days ago, reaching top speeds of 90 kph (60 mph). However, when it moved over the warm waters of the South China Sea, it intensified rapidly. Yagi was originally predicted to be a super typhoon as it barreled into Hainan, but it was downgraded after losing some of its strength before reaching landfall.

At least 20 people were killed by Yagi, which developed during the weekend in the Philippine Sea, in the Philippines. Then, in the South China Sea, it quickly strengthened into a super typhoon, a tropical cyclone with gusts of at least 150 mph in the western North Pacific.