DAK LAK, Vietnam (AP) — Typhoon Kalmaegi brought strong winds and torrential rain to Vietnam on Friday, killing at least five people and leaving widespread damage in the country’s central provinces, days after A strong storm hit the Philippines and left dozens dead or missing.
As the floods receded, reconstruction work began in damaged towns and industrial zones, with local authorities and residents clearing debris and repairing roofs. millions affected in central Vietnam.
Five people were killed – three in Dak Lak and two in Gia Lai provinces – while another three remained missing in Quang Ngai, according to state media. Six people were injured. Fifty-two houses collapsed and nearly 2,600 others were damaged or had their roofs blown off, including more than 2,400 in Gia Lai alone. Power outages affected more than 1.6 million households.
In the Philippines, where Kalmaegi landed earlier this week, Pres Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a national emergency on Thursday as the country braced for another potentially powerful storm, Typhoon Fung-wong, known locally as Uwan.
The weather bureau said Fung-wong could expand to an estimated diameter of 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) before making landfall late Sunday or early Monday in the northern province of Aurora, potentially hitting the densely populated area of the capital Manila.
According to the Office of Civil Defense, Kalmaegi left at least 188 dead and 135 missing in the Philippines, displacing more than half a million people. Nearly 450,000 were evacuated to shelters and over 318,000 remained there as of Thursday.
Many areas in Vietnam reported uprooted trees, damaged power lines and flattened buildings as Kalmaegi weakened to a tropical storm and moved into Cambodia on Friday.
Factories lost their roofs and equipment was damaged due to flooding in Binh Dinh province. In hard-hit Quy Nhon, residents awoke to find corrugated iron roofs and household items strewn across the streets.
As the sky cleared and sunlight broke through on Friday morning, residents of Dak Lak province stepped out to assess the debris left behind.
Streets were strewn with fallen branches and twisted sheet metal, and murky water was still accumulating in low-lying areas where the river rose to record heights overnight. Shopkeepers hauled out soaked goods to dry in the sun, while families swept mud from their doorsteps and patched up missing roof tiles.
Kalmaegi struck Vietnam while the central region of the country was still stagnant reeling from floods caused by record rainfall. Authorities said more than 537,000 people had been evacuated, many by boat, as floodwaters rose and landslides threatened. The storm was forecast to drop up to 600 millimeters of rain in some areas before moving into Laos and northeast Thailand later on Friday.
Three fishermen were missing on Thursday after their boat was swept away by strong waves near Ly Son Island off Quang Ngai Province. The search was later suspended due to worsening weather, state media reported.
The Philippines experiences about 20 typhoons and storms each year and is among the most disaster-prone countries.
Vietnam, which is hit by about a dozen storms a year, experienced a ruthless series this year. Typhoon Ragasa unleashed torrential rain in late September, followed by Typhoon Bualoi and Typhoon Matmo, which together left more than 85 dead or missing and caused an estimated $1.36 billion in damage.
Scientists warn that a warming climate is intensifying storms and rainfall in Southeast Asia floods and typhoons increasingly destructive and frequent.
