Evacuations ordered and airports closed as Super Typhoon Yagi hits Vietnam

Meteorological agency describes storm as ‘one of the most powerful’ in a decade.

Super Typhoon Yagi made landfall in northern Vietnam, the meteorological agency said, uprooting thousands of trees, tossing ships and boats out to sea, and damaging power lines.

Meteorological authorities described Yagi as “one of the most powerful typhoons in the region over the past decade”, with wind speeds between 150-166km/h (93-103 mph).

The typhoon hit the coastal provinces of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh on Saturday, packing winds exceeding 149 km/h (93 mph), the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told the authorities to evacuate residents from dangerous areas, especially those vulnerable to floods and landslides, before the storm hit.

Quang Ninh is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Ha Long Bay, known for its towering limestone islands. Hundreds of cruises were cancelled at the popular site before the typhoon landed, according to local media.

Hai Phong is an industrial hub, home to large factories, including EV maker VinFast and Apple supplier Pegatron.

Metal roof sheets and commercial sign boards were seen flying across the sky in Hai Phong as the typhoon hit.

Further inland, in Hai Duong province, a man was killed after strong winds brought down a tree as the storm approached landfall, according to state media.

“It has been years since I witnessed a typhoon this big,” Tran Thi Hoa, a 48-year-old woman from Hai Phong, told the AFP news agency.

A woman was also killed in the capital, Hanoi, on Friday after a tree was felled by strong winds and heavy rains before the storm landed.

Four airports in northern Vietnam, including Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, have been closed, while sailing has been banned since Friday.

Before hitting the mainland, the typhoon uprooted hundreds of trees on Co To island, about 80km (50 miles) from mainland Quang Ninh.

The storm killed two people and injured 92 others on southern China’s Hainan island, and prompted the evacuation of about 460,000 people.

Yagi killed at least 21 people in the Philippines earlier this week when it was still categorised as a tropical storm.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies