By Skye Milburn
On Saturday, September 7, 2024, tragedy struck Vietnam in the form of a super typhoon. This super typhoon, Typhoon Yagi, was catastrophic for those in Northern Vietnam, with over 150 confirmed dead, and around 50 people still missing.
Yagi hit areas like Hanoi, as well as some other provinces up the Red River. Students that go to school in Hanoi were told to stay inside their homes since there was no hope of actually getting to their school, or what was left of it. The typhoon also managed to sweep away an entire village due to flash flooding, leaving 16 dead and many more missing. “The flood has made our lives so difficult. Our rice crops have been destroyed, and at home appliances like the washing machine, TV, and fridge are all under water,” says one of the residents of the village.
There are over 500 personnel on hand, looking for residents still missing by using sniffer dogs. Prime Minister Pham Minh promised they would not stop searching until everyone was found. Roads leading to the main villages have been badly damaged, making it hard to bring in heavier equipment and more support. Conditions are so harsh that over 50,000 residents have been forced from their homes in Northern Vietnam.
A lot of residents are now just waiting for the water to recede, claiming they don’t know what to do since they are unable to work. The people of Vietnam will struggle to recover from this. The typhoon destroyed most of the farms and other buildings, and many will most likely struggle to make money for a while, even after the water goes down. In fact, the typhoon destroyed over 600,000 acres of farmland, as well as a large portion of the livestock.
In Thailand, conditions are nowhere near as bad, but they definitely didn’t go unscathed. There are around 10 reported deaths and all flights have been canceled to the airport in Chiang Rai. There were also several reported floods throughout the country.
The Super Typhoon Yagi was nothing shy of a catastrophe, being the most intense and most deadly typhoon Asia has faced in the past year. The scary thing about natural disasters like this one is that they happen suddenly and there is very little you can do to stop it. Vietnam will definitely struggle to recover from this, but all the lives lost will be remembered.
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