Hanoi, Vietnam—Thousands of people were stranded on rooftops and posted desperate pleas for help on social media Tuesday after severe flooding in parts of typhoon-hit Vietnam, as the death toll climbed to 82.
Typhoon Yagi struck Saturday bringing winds in excess of 149 kilometers (92 miles) per hour and a deluge of rain that has caused flooding not seen in decades, according to locals.
Some communities in Hanoi along the swollen and fast-moving Red River were inundated, with people forced to evacuate in boats and authorities warning more flooding was expected to hit the capital later Tuesday.
Phan Thi Tuyet, 50, who lives close to the river, said she had never experienced such high water.
“I have lost everything, all gone,” she told Agence France Presse (AFP), clutching her two dogs.
“I had to come to higher ground to save our lives. We could not bring any of the furniture with us. Everything is under water now.”
The storm downed bridges, tore roofs off buildings, damaged factories and triggered widespread flooding and landslides, leaving 64 people still missing.
Hanoi authorities said more than 25,000 trees in the city had been uprooted in the storm. Huge trunks blocked key roads in the city center, creating large traffic jams.
The north of the country—densely populated and a major manufacturing hub for global tech firms including Samsung—was badly hit, with floodwaters in the city of Yen Bai at record levels, meteorologists said.
Authorities have issued flood and landslide warnings for 401 communes across 18 northern provinces.
One-storey homes in parts of Thai Nguyen and Yen Bai cities were almost completely submerged in the early hours of Tuesday, with residents waiting on the roofs for help.
Rescuers were trying to reach residential areas to retrieve old people and children. On social media, relatives of those stuck in floodwater posted desperate pleas for help and supplies in the early hours of the morning.
Crops including bananas, guavas and corn, which are usually sold in nearby markets, were all flooded.
At least 24 people were killed as Yagi tore through southern China and the Philippines before hitting Vietnam.
Typhoons in the region are forming closer to the coast, intensifying more rapidly, and staying over land longer due to climate change, according to a study published in July.
