HANOI – Typhoon Kajiki brought torrential rains to Vietnam’s north central coast on Aug 25, felling trees and flooding homes despite wind speeds tapering off from earlier in the day.

As at 4pm local time, Kajiki was on the coast of Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, with wind speeds easing to 118kmh to 133kmh from as strong as 166kmh, according to the country’s weather agency.

“It’s terrifying,” said Mr Dang Xuan Phuong, 48, a resident of Cua Lo, a tourism town in Nghe An province directly hit by the storm.

State media reports said power in several areas in Ha Tinh province had been cut, roofs blown off and floating fish farms washed away.

Vietnam had earlier shut down airports, closed schools and initiated mass evacuations as it prepared for the most powerful storm so far in 2025.

The government warned earlier of “an extremely dangerous, fast-moving storm”, adding that Kajiki would bring heavy rain, flooding and landslides.

With a long coastline facing the South China Sea, Vietnam is prone to storms that are often deadly and trigger dangerous flooding and mudslides.

The weather agency said rainfall could reach 500mm from Aug 25 until the end of Aug 26 in several parts of northern Vietnam.

The Vietnamese government said earlier on Aug 25 that about 30,000 people had been evacuated from coastal areas.

More than 16,500 soldiers and 107,000 paramilitary personnel have been mobilised to help with the evacuation and to stand by for search and rescue, the government said in a statement.

Two airports in Thanh Hoa and Quang Binh provinces have been shut down, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam. Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet have cancelled dozens of flights to and from the area on Aug 24 and 25.

Kajiki skirted the southern coast of China’s Hainan Island on Aug 24 as it moved towards Vietnam, forcing Sanya City on the island to close businesses and public transport.

China’s southernmost province downgraded its typhoon and emergency response alerts on Aug 25, but warned of heavy rain and isolated storms in cities in the southern part of Hainan.

The Hainan provincial meteorological authority said it expected weather conditions to improve by the night of Aug 25.

Local media reported that many residents in Sanya, a popular holiday resort, had taken shelter from the storm in underground garages on Aug 24.

Some large trees were felled, leaving roads strewn with broken branches, by the morning of Aug 25, the reports said.

On Aug 25, China’s transport ministry urged local authorities in various provinces and regions to remain vigilant to risks and secondary disasters after the national forecaster warned of typhoon impacts on a large part of the country until early on Aug 26.

The areas include the south-west part of China including Sichuan, Yunnan and Guangxi.

The comprehensive warning extended as far as the country’s north-eastern provinces, such as Heilongjiang and Jilin, which are close to the Koreas.

The Chinese Embassy in Hanoi on Aug 25 reminded Chinese citizens in Vietnam to enhance their awareness of prevention and be well-prepared for strong winds and heavy rainfall.

Source: REUTERS