The death toll from Typhoon Bualoi in Vietnam rose above 50, the government said, with more than a dozen people still missing days after the storm triggered widespread flooding.
Bualoi slammed into central Vietnam late Sunday with winds of 130kph, and lingered over land for almost 12 hours.
Heavy rain from the storm inundated the capital Hanoi, with floods and landslides damaging more than 200,000 homes, public infrastructure and farmland across the country.
The environment ministry estimated damage from Bualoi may cost up to US$600mil (RM2.5bil).
The storm and its aftermath have killed at least 51 people, while 14 others are missing, the ministry said in its latest update yesterday.
Landslides killed several people in the country’s northern mountainous areas, and disrupted access to tourist attractions such as Sapa and Mu Cang Chai.
Images on state and social media showed roads completely destroyed and massive rocks and earth blocking mountain passes.
Weather forecasters said floodwaters had begun receding, but warned Typhoon Matmo may impact the north of Vietnam early next week.
Matmo would be the 11th storm this year to hit Vietnam, a country that typically records up to 10 annually.
Bualoi killed 37 people and forced 400,000 to flee their homes in the Philippines last week.
Human-driven climate change is turbocharging extreme weather events like typhoons, making them ever more deadly and destructive.
Between January and August, storms caused Vietnam US$371mil (RM1.5bil) in damage, triple the amount over the same period last year, the General Statistics Office said. — AFP
