Typhoon Yagi hits Vietnam after devastating southern China

A man rides a motorbike in the rain in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Saturday after Typhoon Yagi made landfall. Yagi left a trail of devastation in southern China with sustained winds of up to 250 km/h. Photo by Luong Thai Linh/EPA-EFE

The storm is the second strongest to make landfall so far this year, with only Hurricane Beryl having stronger powers.

NASA described the super typhoon as the strongest to hit China in a decade.

At least four people were killed and another 95 injured in southern China, state media reported on Saturday.

Authorities evacuated about 400,000 people from the area before the storm hit on Friday. Flights, trains and scheduled boat trips were also suspended and schools closed.

As of Saturday morning, more than 1.22 million people in China had been affected in some way by the storm.

Meteorologists expect the storm to weaken as it moves across the rest of Vietnam overnight Sunday, but predict torrential rain until it passes.

Yagi continues to move on a west-northwest orbit.

The storm had previously dumped more than 390 millimeters of rain in parts of the Philippines, claiming at least 13 lives.

Authorities in China and Vietnam are also warning of the danger of landslides as a result of persistent, heavy rainfall.

Photos and videos in the Chinese state media show the extent of the destruction: damaged buildings, flooded streets and fallen trees can be seen throughout Hainan, including in the capital Haikou with its three million inhabitants.