Hanoi, Vietnam
AP
—
Nearly 200 people have been killed and more than 125 are missing in Vietnam due to flash floods and landslides caused by Typhoon Yagi, state media reported on Thursday.
Vietnam’s VNExpress newspaper reported that 197 people were killed, 128 were still missing and more than 800 were injured.
The death toll soared earlier this week after the entire village of Lan Nhu in Vietnam’s northern Lao Cai province was swept away by flash floods on Tuesday. Hundreds of rescue workers were desperately searching for survivors on Wednesday, but as of Thursday morning 53 villagers remained missing and seven more bodies had been found, bringing the death toll to 42, VNExpress reported.
Typhoon Yagi, the most powerful typhoon to hit Southeast Asia in decades, made landfall on Saturday with maximum sustained winds of 149 kph (92 mph). It weakened on Sunday but heavy rains continued and river levels remained dangerously high.
Heavy rains also damaged factories in Vietnam’s export-focused northern industrial heartland.
