Typhoon Kalmaegi last night slammed into central Vietnam’s already storm-battered coastline, packing winds of up to 149kph, the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said, as thousands of people were evacuated from coastal areas.
“The storm is on land in the provinces of Dak Lak — Gia Lai,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the strongest sustained winds were 118kph to 149kph with much stronger gusts.
Kalmaegi cut a path of destruction through the Philippines this week, killing at least 140 people and leaving another 127 missing after unleashing devastating floods.
Photo: EPA
Vietnam’s National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting warned of waves as high as 8m and powerful storm surges.
“This is a huge typhoon with terrible devastating capacity,” Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee chairman Pham Anh Tuan said.
More than 7,000 people had been evacuated in Gia Lai Province as of Wednesday night, state media said.
Photo: Reuters
Central Vietnam is still reeling from more than a week of flooding and record rains that killed at least 47 people and submerged centuries-old historic sites.
In Gia Lai’s coastal area of Quy Nhon Nam, officials were knocking on doors warning people to flee.
Dozens of people — mostly elderly women and children — yesterday sheltered at a school carrying mats, pillows and blankets in anticipation of spending the night.
“I am not young anymore and I don’t want to risk my life,” said Tran Thi Nghia, 56, who left her one-story home at the urging of authorities.
Vietnam is in one of the most active tropical storm regions on Earth and is typically affected by 10 typhoons or storms a year, but Kalmaegi is the 13th of this year.
Kalmaegi on Monday slammed into the central Philippines, battering the islands of Cebu and Negros before swooping back out to sea. Floodwaters described as unprecedented rushed through Cebu province’s towns and cities, sweeping away cars, riverside shanties and even massive shipping containers.
In Liloan, a town near Cebu City where 35 bodies have been recovered, cars were piled atop each other by floodwaters and roofs torn off buildings as residents attempted to dig out the mud.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday declared a “state of national calamity,” a move allowing the government to release funding for aid and impose price ceilings on basic necessities.
More than 500,000 Filipinos remain displaced.
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