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THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE fled their homes in Vietnam today as Typhoon Vamco barrelled towards central regions already pummelled by weeks of successive storms.
Airports have been shut, beaches closed and a fishing ban put in place as the country braces for winds of up to 100 kilometres per hour when the typhoon makes landfall tomorrow, likely close to Hue.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in four central provinces, according to the disaster management authority, while state media said hundreds of thousands more may have to flee.
A series of storms have hit central Vietnam over the past six weeks, causing flooding and landslides that have killed at least 159 people, authorities said, while 70 others are missing.
The severe weather has also damaged or destroyed more than 400,000 homes, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Roads and bridges have been washed away, power supplies disrupted, and crucial food crops destroyed, leaving at least 150,000 people at immediate risk of food shortages, it added.
“There has been no respite for more than eight million people living in central Vietnam,” said Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu, Vietnam Red Cross Society President.
“Each time they start rebuilding their lives and livelihoods, they are pummeled by yet another storm.”
Typhoon Vamco has already caused devastation in the Philippines.
Emergency response teams were dispatched to the northeast on Saturday where more than 340,000 people have been affected by severe flooding following Vamco that killed at least 33 people across the country, disaster agencies said.
Twenty of the deaths were recorded in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya, which have become the focus of rescue efforts.
Hundreds of people were trapped on rooftops in the hardest hit areas along the Cagayan river with rescuers unable to reach them due to the strong current, said the spokesman for the regional Office of Civil Defense.
Vast swathes of the region were under water in what officials have described as the worst flooding in living memory.
The release of water from Magat dam has exacerbated the impact.
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Got stuck in Hoi An in a Typhoon in 2009, one of the most scary experiences in my life
We’re lucky our little country doesn’t experience regular extreme weather like this
Da Nang has been flooded a lot in the past few months, you’ll still see people go to great lengths to get around even with waist high water. A few of the expat groups in Hanoi and Saigon are doing fundraisers for it. Ill post a link if I can find it.
Speaking of, Hanoi is doing alright, the central area is nearly 800km or an hours flight away from there and that’s only considered a small flood in the articles picture so change it!
Among many other houses, Soul Kitchen overlooking the stunning An Bang beach got destroyed by the typhoon. In My Opinion it was one of the great beach bars of the world and I hope they can rebuild.
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