Janice R. Andrews
As of Friday, 254 people have died in Vietnam because of Typhoon Yagi. Search and relief efforts are still going on. The storm hit land on the northeastern side of the country last Saturday and destroyed a lot of land. It caused landslides and flash floods.
The National Disaster Management Agency said that over 820 people were hurt and 82 people are still missing. A flash flood in Nu Village, in the northern province of Lao Cai, destroyed all 37 houses and killed 46 people. As of now, 41 people have not been found.
In another town in Lao Cai, 115 people who were reported missing came back safely after hiding on a mountain for two days without power or phone service. The group, which was led by Vang Seo Chu, chief of the village, lived by gathering wild bamboo shoots.
UNICEF says that hundreds of thousands of children are now homeless and can’t get clean water, toilets, or medical care because of the damage. The service also says that about 2 million children can’t go to school because their schools were damaged by the storm.
To help the children and families who have been harmed right away, UNICEF has asked for a start of $15 million in aid.
At the same time, the floods in Hanoi’s Red River have started to go down, letting some traffic go back on. The damage from Typhoon Yagi, floods, and landslides has already led to claims worth VND7 trillion ($285.36 million) from insurance companies, according to the finance ministry.
Vietnam is still getting back on its feet after one of the strongest storms to hit Asia this year. Rescue efforts are still going on.
