Typhoon Bualoi tore into Vietnam’s central coast on Monday, leaving at least 12 people dead and 21 more missing, according to state media. The storm had hammered the Philippines over the weekend, killing at least 10 people there.
The storm made landfall on Sunday at around 11 p.m. local time, with a wind speed of between 73 and 83 miles per hour, according to local media reports that cited the state weather forecaster. Vietnam intensified its relief efforts on Monday, as rescuers struggled to reach communities isolated by landslides and flash floods. As the storm moved west toward Laos, rain continued to swell in hydropower reservoirs in the area, threatening to cause more damage.
Vietnam’s state-owned power utility EVN said efforts were underway to restore electricity to nearly two million homes across Central Vietnam.
“This typhoon is one of the strongest to hit the areas it swept through in the last two decades,” said Huy Nguyen, a local weather forecaster. “It created widespread damage because it stayed inland for many hours — between six and 11 hours — after making landfall.”
Rescue teams saved 13 people who had been trapped by rising floodwaters at a farm by a river in Thanh Hoa Province on Monday afternoon, according to local media reports.
Bualoi had maximum sustained winds of about 90 m.p.h., according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii, as it ripped across a large swath of central Vietnam. The region was already reeling from the devastation caused by Typhoon Kajiki only a month earlier.
The timing of the storms has left little time for recovery.
“The previous typhoon destroyed my home. All the roof was blown away. I had just fixed my house with loans. Today, this typhoon has damaged my home again,” said Tran Thi Ha, 40, who lives in Ha Tinh Province.
Bualoi’s effects were felt across the region. In Ninh Binh Province, approximately 124 miles from the storm’s eye, severe thunderstorms caused homes to collapse and killed nine people. Vietnam’s central Ha Tinh Province, which the eye of the storm passed directly over, reported that vast areas lost power.
“We expect the rain will continue,” said Tran Huu Khanh, deputy director of the Ha Tinh Department of Agriculture and Environment. “We are mobilizing resources to respond to the further risks of flash floods and landslides.”
Vietnam had evacuated tens of thousands of residents over the weekend before Bualoi’s arrival as a precautionary measure.
It was expected to dissipate over the next 24 hours, according to the typhoon center. “The typhoon continues to pour rain over Laos and the border region with Vietnam,” Dr. Huy warned. “The impact and danger of the typhoon are not over yet.”
Tung Ngo is a Times reporter and researcher based in Hanoi, Vietnam.
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