Typhoon Yagi leaves 59 dead and missing in northern Vietnam

Hanoi, September 9 (IANS): As of Monday afternoon, 59 people have died or are missing in northern Vietnam as a result of Typhoon Yagi and the resulting landslides and floods, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said.

The natural disasters also injured 247 people, including 157 in Quang Ninh province and 40 in Hai Phong city, according to the ministry. 25 unmanned vessels, mainly fishing boats, sank. Over 113,000 hectares of rice fields and more than 22,000 hectares of other crops were damaged. 1,500 aquaculture cages were damaged or washed away. 190,000 chickens died. Nearly 121,700 trees were uprooted or damaged.

A steel bridge in northern Vietnam's Phu Tho province collapsed on Monday morning, sending 10 cars and two motorcycles into the Red River and leaving 13 people missing, Xinhua news agency reported, citing VNA.

It was also reported that 21 people were killed or missing in landslides in Cao Bang province and 15 people suffered the same fate in Lao Cai province.

According to the ministry, Typhoon Yagi was the strongest storm to hit northern Vietnam in the past 30 years.