Bualoi forces evacuations, airport closures in Vietnam

Vietnam closed airports and evacuated thousands of people in areas under storm threat on Sunday, as intensifying Typhoon Bualoi barrelled towards the country, days after causing at least 10 deaths and widespread flooding in the Philippines.

The typhoon was generating winds of up to 133 km/h as of 1000 GMT and is forecast to make landfall in central Vietnam on Monday, slowing as it nears the coast, state-run Thanh Nien newspaper reported.

“This is a rapidly moving storm - nearly twice the average speed - with strong intensity and a broad area of impact,” the national weather forecast agency said.

“It is capable of triggering multiple natural disasters simultaneously, including powerful winds, heavy rainfall, flooding, flash floods, landslides, and coastal inundation.”

Northern and central provinces may see up to 600 mm of rain through Oct.1, with rivers rising by 9 metres and risks of flooding and landslides, it said.

Authorities in the central province of Ha Tinh have started to evacuate more than 15,000 people, the government said, adding thousands of troops were standing ready.

Residents in Vinh, capital of Nghe An province where the typhoon is expected to make landfall, were rushing to secure homes, tie down boats, and stack sandbags or water-filled sacks on rooftops.

“We already suffered from losses from recent Typhoon Kajiki this year and haven’t recovered yet,” said Bui Thi Tuyet, a 41-year-old resident.

“Over the last 20 years living here, I have not felt this terrified because of storms.”

Vietnam suspended operations at four coastal airports from Sunday, including Da Nang International Airport, and adjusted the departure time of several flights, the Civil Aviation Authority said.

Schools in the typhoon-affected area will be closed on Monday, with closures potentially extended if necessary, according to news site VnExpress.

Heavy rain has already caused flooding in Hue and Quang Tri, the government said.

With a long coastline facing the South China Sea, Vietnam is prone to typhoons that are often deadly.

Last year, Typhoon Yagi killed around 300 people and caused $3.3 billion of property damage.

Separately, the death toll from Bualoi rose to 11 in the Philippines as the cyclone bore down on Vietnam, authorities said.

Bualoi battered small islands in the centre of the Philippines on Friday, toppling trees and power pylons, ripping roofs off homes, unleashing floods and forcing 400,000 people to evacuate.

Among the worst hit was the tiny island of Biliran, where eight people died and two are missing, provincial disaster official Noel Lungay told reporters by telephone.

“There was widespread flooding and some roads remained under water early today,” he said.

“Evacuees are starting to return to their homes as the weather improves,” he added.

The office of civil defence in Manila earlier reported three other deaths on the nearby islands of Masbate and Ticao, including two people crushed by a tree and a wall that were brought down by the strong winds.

Fourteen people remain missing across the central Philippines, it said without providing details, while more than 200,000 remained inside evacuation centres across the storm’s path.

Bualoi came on the heels of Super Typhoon Ragasa which killed 14 people across the northern Philippines.

Bualoi was tearing across the South China Sea on Saturday at typhoon strength of 120 kilometres an hour, the Philippines’ state weather service said.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, routinely striking disaster-prone areas where millions of people live in poverty.

Scientists warn that storms are becoming more powerful as the world warms due to the effects of human-driven climate change.

The storms come as the Philippine public seethes over a scandal involving bogus flood-control projects believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

Thousands took to the streets on Sunday to vent their anger, with the peaceful demonstrations later overshadowed by street battles that saw police vehicles set ablaze, and the windows of a precinct headquarters shattered.

Agencies