The super typhoon that struck on Saturday continues to bring heavy rainfall, landslides and floods to northern Vietnam, where at least 127 people have died and 54 are missing, officials said.
Thousands of people were stranded on rooftops in some northern provinces on Tuesday, while others posted desperate messages for help on social media.
Typhoon Yagi, Vietnam’s strongest storm in 30 years, wreaked havoc in the country’s northern region, leaving 1.5 million people without power.
Dashcam footage showed the Phong Chau Bridge in Phu Tho province suddenly collapsed on Monday, sending several cars into the water.
Although it has now weakened to a tropical depression, authorities warned that Yagi will cause more damage as it moves westward.
Phan Thi Tuyet, 50, who lives near the river, told AFP she had never experienced such high water levels.
“I lost everything, everything was gone,” she said, clutching her two dogs.
“I had to get to higher ground to save our lives. We couldn’t carry any furniture. Everything is underwater now.”
The storm, which brought winds of nearly 150 km/h (92 mph), damaged bridges, ripped off roofs from buildings, damaged factories and caused widespread flooding and landslides, with 64 people still alive. People are missing.
Authorities have now issued flood and landslide warnings for 401 communities in 18 northern provinces.
One-story houses were almost completely submerged in parts of Thai Nguyen and Yen Bai provinces in the early hours of Tuesday, with residents waiting on their roofs for rescue.
In addition to the deaths and missing persons, at least 752 people were injured by flooding and landslides, agriculture ministry officials said on Tuesday.
Before attacking Vietnam, the Yagi killed 24 people in southern China and the Philippines.
Meteorologists say typhoons will bring higher wind speeds and more intense rainfall as the world warms, although the effects of climate change on individual storms are complex.
