Four members of the same family have tragically died in a landslide triggered by Super Typhoon Yagi after the storm tore through Vietnam. The landslide struck Hoa Binh province, a mountainous region in northern Vietnam, at around midnight local time (Saturday 18:00 BST), according to state media. A 51-year-old man managed to escape, but his wife, daughter, and two grandchildren were buried when the hillside collapsed onto their home. Their bodies were later recovered.
Yagi, the most powerful typhoon to hit Asia this year, has claimed at least 14 lives and injured 176 others, Vietnamese state media confirmed. The typhoon has since been downgraded to a tropical depression, but authorities are warning of continued risks of flooding and landslides as the storm moves westward.
After making landfall in northern Vietnam on Saturday, Yagi battered the provinces of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh with winds reaching 203 km/h (126 mph), according to the Indo-Pacific Tropical Cyclone Warning Center. The storm caused widespread destruction, including power outages in the capital, Hanoi, after it uprooted trees and ripped roofs from buildings.
State media reported that three people died in Quang Ninh, while another fatality occurred in Hai Duong, near Hanoi. Several fishermen are also missing at sea. In Hai Phong, extensive flooding submerged parts of the city under half a meter of water, and downed power lines caused outages across the region. The port city, home to two million people and numerous multinational factories, faced significant damage, with metal roofs and signboards seen flying through the streets. At least 23 boats were damaged or sunk near Tuan Chau island, according to local residents.
Pham Van Thanh, a 51-year-old sailor, told AFP he had never experienced such a powerful storm. He and his crew remained on their tourist boat to prevent it from sinking, but the violent winds proved too strong: “The wind was pushing from our back with so much pressure that no boat could stand,” Thanh said.
Nearly 50,000 people have been evacuated from coastal towns across Vietnam, and authorities are urging residents to remain indoors. Schools have been closed in 12 northern provinces, including Hanoi, where heavy rains forced motorcyclists to take shelter under bridges.
The storm is expected to move into northern Laos by Sunday evening. Before reaching Vietnam, Super Typhoon Yagi devastated Hainan, a popular tourist island in China known as “China’s Hawaii,” and the Philippines, where it killed at least 24 people. In Hainan, China evacuated 400,000 people, suspended transportation, and shut down schools. About 830,000 households faced power outages, and valuable crops were destroyed.
Experts warn that climate change is contributing to stronger, more frequent typhoons and hurricanes. Warmer ocean waters allow storms to gain more energy, resulting in higher wind speeds and more destructive rainfall. Scientists predict these storms will continue to grow in intensity, staying over land longer and causing more widespread devastation.