Typhoon Yagi made landfall in Vietnam on Saturday, packing powerful winds and torrential rain that killed at least four people and injured more than 70 people, according to state-run media, and forced tens of thousands to evacuate. Earlier, the storm smashed into southern China, where at least three people died.
The typhoon, one of the most powerful to strike northern Vietnam, made landfall at 1:30 p.m. in the coastal province of Quang Ninh near the city of Haiphong, according to the state-run media.
By landfall, Yagi was equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 127 mph, the U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Center said. The storm had rapidly intensified to a Category 4 storm earlier Saturday before it began weakening over Vietnam. By early Sunday morning, the storm had weakened to a tropical depression, according to Vietnam's National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting
The coastal areas of Quang Ninh and Hai Phong, a base for sea trade and manufacturing hubs, were among the hardest hit.
The storm's gales sank boats, broke utility poles and uprooted trees in coastal towns near Halong Bay, where fishing communities live on hundreds of small islands that are vulnerable to violent waves, local news media reported. More than 8 million people in the northern provinces were experiencing power failures, according to state-run media.
Vessels in the Quang Ninh were swept away, some with crew members onboard, according to news accounts. One sailor was killed, and more than a dozen others were missing.
"I've never seen anything like this in my life," said Nguyen Viet Anh, 32, a resident of Ha Long City, in a phone interview. "The wind was so strong, it blew everything away."
He said he had been sheltering in the lobby of his building because he was frightened by the winds battering his 27th-floor apartment. A guard in his building had been hit in the head by flying debris, he said, and an ambulance called to help had been overturned by the strong winds.
"I don't even recognize my town," he said, describing the fallen trees and tin roofs ripped off homes. "It's just like out of a horror movie."
In Hanoi, the force of the storm's winds uprooted trees and tore off the roof of a factory. At least two people were killed from falling trees, and local officials warned residents to stay indoors, state media reported. State media attributed another death to the storm.
The country's Civil Aviation Authority suspended flights that had been scheduled at four airports Saturday, and public transport services in the Hanoi were suspended, news media reported.
On Saturday evening, the storm moved inland to Vietnam's northwest provinces, past the city of Hai Duong and approaching Hanoi, the capital, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
In coastal areas, waves could still reach as high as 13 feet, and even higher in the Gulf of Tonkin, according to Vietnam's national forecasting center. Authorities in several coastal cities evacuated more than 48,000 people living in vulnerable areas, state media reported.
Yagi will also bring more heavy rain, the forecasting center said, adding that parts of Vietnam were expected to receive more than 19 inches of rain in a day.
Vietnamese meteorologists warned of the risk of landslides, floods in small rivers and low-lying areas, and storm surges in coastal areas.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam on Saturday ordered provinces and cities in northern Vietnam, including Hanoi, a city of 8.6 million people, to make storm preparations, according to state media. The directive included closing schools.
"Strong winds in Hanoi will have a major impact on people's lives," said Nguyen Van Huong, head of the meteorological center's forecast department.
Some shop owners placed large cargo containers in front of their doors as a precaution against the wind.
"All houses with tin rooftops in my neighborhood have been blown away," said Nguyen Van Bong, a Hanoi resident, who said that he had been shocked by the strong winds.
Factories in an industrial zone in Vietnam's north also closed Saturday afternoon, sending about 14,000 workers home after Yagi caused power outages. Manufacturing lines in the zone include Pegatron, a major assembler for Apple, and Bridgestone, the world's largest producer of tire and rubber.
"By far, it was the strongest storm that we have ever weathered out," said Bruno Jaspaert, general director at Deep C Industrial Zones.
Yagi was the strongest typhoon in a decade to hit Hainan, with Chinese authorities calling its path "extremely destructive."
The storm affected more than 1 million people in Hainan, Guangdong and Guangxi, where two people died and more than 90 people were injured, according to local officials. It shook high-rises, blew out windows, overturned trucks, felled trees and collapsed homes, state media reported.
More than 830,000 customers lost power, and dozens of people were injured in Hainan after the storm made landfall there Friday. About 1 million people were evacuated in Hainan and Guangdong provinces.
More rain and strong winds were forecast in southern China on Saturday. China's National Meteorological Center said that up to 16 inches more of rain would fall in provinces, including in Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi, in a day.
Yagi, which formed last weekend in the Philippine Sea, killed at least 20 people in the Philippines. It then intensified rapidly in the South China Sea and became a super typhoon, a tropical cyclone in the western North Pacific with winds of at least 150 mph.