Typhoon Kajiki leaves three dead, 10 injured in Vietnam

Hanoi, Aug 26 (IANS) At least three people were killed and 10 others injured in northern and central Vietnam due to heavy rains, strong winds, and flooding triggered by Typhoon Kajiki, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Vietnam said Tuesday.

The storm also damaged over 6,800 houses, inundated more than 28,800 hectares of rice fields, 2,200 hectares of other crops, and toppled nearly 18,000 trees across the affected provinces, the Voice of Vietnam said, citing the ministry’s report.

The storm disrupted power infrastructure, with a total of 331 power poles knocked down, and nearly 1.3 million customers experiencing power outages, the report added.

Local authorities are continuing recovery efforts and assessing the full extent of the damage, Xinhua news agency reported.

Typhoon Kajiki had made landfall in Vietnam on Monday afternoon, battering the country’s coastal provinces with winds of up to 118-133 km/h.

Vietnamese authorities had said it could be as powerful as Typhoon Yagi – its most powerful storm in 30 years – which killed 300 people when it hit last year.

While the storm has decreased in intensity, the wind speeds remain high, the country’s weather forecasting service said.

Flights have also been suspended at two airports in its central region along with some train services. Meanwhile road travel has been suspended in Ha Tinh, a northern coastal province.

Vietnam isn’t the only country facing off Typhoon Kajiki, which earlier skirted past China’s Hainan island and brought heavy rain and strong winds to southern China.

Typhoon Kajiki, the 13th typhoon of the year had brushed past the coast of south China’s island province of Hainan on Sunday night, affecting over 100,000 people.

The typhoon passed through the offshore areas from the resort city of Sanya to Ledong Li Autonomous County, and headed toward the central and northern coastal regions of Vietnam, according to the press conference on Kajiki response.

Preliminary figures showed that about 102,500 people in Hainan have been affected, and no casualties had been reported as of 9 am on Monday.

The typhoon had inflicted damage on roads, water supply systems, power and communication facilities in cities and counties including Sanya, Ledong, Lingshui and Wanning, as well as fallen trees and flooding in some areas.

More than 10,000 personnel from the military, armed police and firefighting teams had been dispatched and over 770,000 pieces of emergency supplies were allocated to support flood control, disaster relief and road clearance in severely-affected areas.

Public transportation across the province is gradually resuming operations. Sanya Phoenix International Airport resumed normal operations, while the three major ports in the provincial capital Haikou were expected to reopen on Monday.

–IANS

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