Typhoons Of Kajiki Hit Vietnam, Fallen Trees, Flooded Houses

UNSPLASH/Annie Spratt ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Typhoon Kajiki brought heavy rains to Vietnam's north-central coast on Monday, overthrowing trees and flooding houses.

Kajiki is on the coast of Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, with wind speeds dropping to 118-113 km/hour from 166 km/hour, according to the country's meteorological agency.

"It's terrible," said Dang Xuan Phuong, a 48-year-old Cua Lo resident, a tourist city in Nghe An province that was directly affected by the storm.

"When I looked down from a higher floor, I could see waves as high as 2 meters, and the water had flooded the streets around us," Phuong told Reuters.

Government media reports said electricity in several areas in Ha Tinh Province had been extinguished, roofs were flying, and floating fish ponds were washed away.

Vietnam has previously closed airports, closed schools, and started mass evacuations in preparation for the strongest hurricanes so far this year.

The government had previously warned of "rapid and very dangerous storm," adding that Kajiki would bring heavy rains, floods and landslides.

With a long coastline overlooking the South China Sea, Vietnam is prone to storms that often kill and trigger floods and dangerous landslides.

The Vietnam Meteorology Agency said rainfall could reach 500 millimeters from Monday afternoon to Tuesday night in several areas of northern Vietnam. Typhoon Kajiki is approaching the central coast of Vietnam.

The Vietnamese government previously said about 30,000 people had been evacuated from coastal areas.

More than 16,500 soldiers and 107,000 paramilitary personnel have been mobilized to assist evacuation and standby for search and rescue.

Two airports in the provinces of Thanh Hoa and Quang Binh are closed, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet canceled dozens of flights to and from the region on Sunday and Monday.

Kajiki passed the southern coast of Hainan Island, China, on Sunday while moving towards Vietnam, forcing Sanya City on the island to close businesses and public transportation.

China's southernmost province issued a hurricane warning and emergency response on Monday morning but warned of heavy rains and isolated storms in cities in the southern part of Hainan.