Hanoi. The death toll from Typhoon Yagi and the following floods and landslides has risen to 87, with 70 people still missing and hundreds injured, according to state media reports on Tuesday.

Yagi, the most powerful typhoon to strike Vietnam in decades, made landfall on Saturday with winds reaching 149 kph. Although the storm weakened by Sunday, heavy rains continued to cause significant damage.

Vietnamese state broadcaster VTV reported that floods and landslides were responsible for most of the casualties. Water levels in several rivers, including the Red River flowing through Hanoi, reached dangerous levels, prompting evacuations in the affected areas. Local officials noted that Hanoi, Vietnam’s second-largest city with 8.5 million residents, experienced the worst flooding since 2008.

In northwestern Lao Cai province, bordering China, heavy rainfall and landslides resulted in 19 deaths. AP footage from Tuesday showed soil cascading onto homes and roads, while three people were rescued from a collapsed steel bridge over the Red River. Thirteen others remain missing.

Yen Bai province also faced severe flooding, with at least 32 fatalities and seven missing. Over 10,000 homes in the province’s main city were submerged, prompting extensive evacuations.

The Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation reported that communities in Ha Giang and Dien Bien provinces were displaced and isolated due to landslides blocking roads and flooding near schools.

Skye Maconachie, co-CEO of Blue Dragon, highlighted that vulnerable communities were disproportionately affected, a common issue in such disasters.

In Cao Bang province, landslides claimed 19 lives, and 36 people are missing. A bridge collapse and a bus swept into a flood-swollen stream further exacerbated the situation.

The storm also caused damage to factories in northern provinces, including Haiphong. Benjamin Horton, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, noted that climate change is intensifying storms like Yagi by providing warmer ocean waters that fuel stronger winds and heavier rainfall.

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