Typhoon Yagi sweeps Vietnam; death toll nears 200

In the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, nearly 200 people have lost their lives in Vietnam, and over 125 are missing, as flash floods and landslides wreak havoc.

As many as 197 individuals have died in Vietnam and 128 remain unaccounted for, with more than 800 others injured, News.Az reports citing foreign media.

In the capital, flood waters from the Red River receded slightly but many areas were still inundated.

In Hanoi's Tay Ho district, people waded through muddy brown water above their knees to make their way along one street, some still wearing their bicycle and motorcycle helmets after abandoning their vehicles along the way.

A few paddled along the road in small boats as empty water bottles, a stryofoam cooler and other flotsam drifted by; one man pushed his motorbike toward drier ground in an aluminum sloop.

Pedestrians hiked up their shorts as high as possible to avoid being soaked by the wake caused by a delivery truck powering its way through the water.

Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades. It made landfall Saturday with winds of up to 149 kph (92 mph). Despite weakening on Sunday, downpours continued and rivers remain dangerously high.

The flooding in Hanoi has been reportedly the worst in two decades, and has led to widespread evacuations.

The death toll spiked earlier in the week as a flash flood swept away the entire hamlet of Lang Nu in northern Vietnam's Lao Cai province Tuesday.

Hundreds of rescue personnel worked tirelessly Wednesday to search for survivors, but as of Thursday morning 53 villagers remained missing, VNExpress reported, while seven more bodies were found, bringing the death toll there to 42.

News.Az