Vietnam woke up Monday to scenes of destruction after Typhoon Bualoi barrelled ashore overnight with heavy rain, violent winds and waves up to eight metres (26 feet) high.
By morning, authorities were counting the dead and searching for the missing. National disaster officials confirmed at least two deaths, but local reports and the Associated Press said the toll is much higher, nine dead across several provinces, with 17 people still unaccounted for.
In Ninh Binh, strong winds toppled houses, killing six people, while Danang reported one fatality. In Hue City, a person drowned in floodwaters and another was crushed by a falling tree in Thanh Hoa province.
The storm’s reach was vast. In Quang Tri, a fishing boat broke free of its moorings, leaving nine crew members adrift. Four swam to safety, while five remain missing. Families in Gia Lai said they’d lost contact with eight people on a fishing trip.
More than 347,000 households lost power before Bualoi slammed into the coast shortly after midnight.
Vietnam’s government had moved more than 28,500 people out of harm’s way ahead of landfall and shut down four airports in the central region, cancelling or delaying hundreds of flights.
By late morning, Bualoi had crossed into Laos, leaving a trail of wreckage in its wake. The storm had already killed at least 20 people in the Philippines last week and comes just days after Typhoon Ragasa devastated parts of the Philippines, Taiwan and China, killing at least 28.
For Vietnam, a country with long experience of powerful storms, Bualoi’s intensity is another reminder of how vulnerable its long coastline and fishing communities are to increasingly violent typhoons.
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