Heavy rains and strong winds lashed Vietnam’s central coast Monday, uprooting trees, destroying homes, shuttering airports and spurring last-minute evacuations, as one of the most powerful typhoons in decades to hit the nation made landfall north of Da Nang.
Typhoon Kajiki arrived with gusts of more than 120 miles per hour and was expected to be a slow-moving, damaging storm that would weaken as it crossed land and headed for Laos. Even after downpours began, police were going door to door in many areas, pushing residents to shelters after the government issued evacuation orders for more than 325,000 people.
Flights across the region — a mix of fishing villages, agricultural and industrial areas, and tourist spots — were canceled. Schools were closed. And at least one person was killed in the race to harden local defenses: A man in Nghe An Province was electrocuted while trying to reinforce the roof of his home, according to state media.
“Our top priority at the moment is to evacuate all people in vulnerable areas to safe grounds,” said Hoang Quoc Viet, the director of agriculture and environment in Nghe An Province.
“This is a strong typhoon,” he added, “and there are lots of risks.”
Authorities have issued a level-4 natural disaster warning, one notch below the country’s most severe rating, for a roughly 250-mile stretch from Thanh Hoa to Quang Tri in central Vietnam. Home to several million residents, the area also includes the country’s largest oil refinery, one of Southeast Asia’s biggest steel complexes, power plants and a deep-sea port.
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