Typhoon Yagi left dozens dead in northern Vietnam and widespread damage as it churned westwards, preliminary government estimates showed on Monday.
A busy steel bridge over the engorged Red River in Phu Tho province collapsed Monday morning, local officials told state media. Several motorbikes and cars fell into the river, the initial reports said.
Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit Vietnam in decades when it made landfall Saturday with winds up to 149 kph (92 mph). It weakened to a tropical depression Sunday, but the country’s meteorological agency has still warned the continuing downpours could cause floods and landslides.
Managers and workers at industrial parks and factories in Haiphong, a coastal city of two million, said on Monday they had no electricity and were trying to salvage equipment from rain in plants whose metal sheets roofing had been blown away.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited Haiphong on Sunday and approved a package of $4.62 million to help the port city recover.
Yagi also damaged agricultural land, nearly 116,192 hectares where rice is mostly grown.
The weather agency warned of more floods and landslides, noting that rainfall ranged between 208 millimeters and 433 millimeters (8.2 inches to 17.1 inches) in several parts of the northern region over the past 24 hours.
State-run power provider EVN said that more than 5.7 million customers lost power during the weekend as dozens of power lines were broken, but electricity was restored on Monday to nearly 75% of those affected.
Before hitting Vietnam, Yagi caused at least 20 deaths in the Philippines last week and three deaths in China.
