Typhoon Kajiki Slams Vietnam: Devastating Winds, Flooding Displace Tens of Thousands; Comparisons to 2020’s Typhoon Yagi Draw Attention to Climate Crisis Impact
Typhoon Kajiki struck Vietnam on Monday, bringing powerful winds and devastating several central provinces, leading to mass evacuations of residents.
The storm hit Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces at approximately 3 p.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) with wind speeds of 133 kph (82 mph), as reported by Vietnam’s national weather forecast agency.
Strong gusts caused damage to buildings, uprooted trees, and knocked down lampposts, according to state media. The affected provinces are situated around 350 kilometers (217 miles) south of Hanoi. In preparation for the typhoon, residents and businesses along the coast had previously boarded up windows and stacked sandbags outside homes, restaurants, and hotels.
Schools, two provincial airports, and evacuations from coastal provinces were suspended due to Kajiki, which marked the fifth typhoon to hit Vietnam this year. As of Monday morning, over 40,000 people had been relocated from low-lying coastal communities, according to VN Express.
Eyewitnesses described significant waves inundating streets in coastal regions, with roofs collapsing and homes being flooded, as reported by Reuters. In Ha Tinh, power outages and unstable phone networks occurred following heavy rain that forced residents to seek shelter, according to state media reports. The typhoon also caused tidal surges, resulting in flooding in Thanh Hoa province’s coastal areas.
In anticipation of the typhoon, emergency measures were activated in Vietnam’s central provinces on Sunday. This included plans to evacuate approximately 587,000 people from Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri, Hue, and Danang provinces. Fishing vessels were also barred from leaving shore, and dams and flood walls were secured, as reported by VNA.
More than 300,000 military personnel were mobilized, with the Navy, Coast Guard, and Air Force standing by for rescue operations, according to the news agency. Vietnamese government officials compared Kajiki to Typhoon Yagi, which struck the region last year and caused widespread destruction in Vietnam’s north, killing around 300 people and causing extensive damage to infrastructure, factories, and farmland. Despite being weaker than Yagi, Kajiki has brought destructive winds and flooding.
The storm is predicted to move towards Laos and Thailand, as reported by China’s Meteorological Center, increasing the risk for flash floods and landslides. Between 200-400 millimeters of rain are expected in certain regions in Vietnam, with some areas experiencing up to 600 mm.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecasts that Kajiki will weaken quickly over land, dropping to tropical depression strength by early Tuesday.
Previously, Typhoon Kajiki had passed the southern coast of China’s Hainan island and parts of Guangdong province on Sunday evening. In response, Sanya on Hainan island closed tourist attractions, shuttered businesses, and suspended public transport. Although Sanya downgraded its typhoon alert on Monday morning, heavy rain and storms in southern Hainan were expected to persist, as reported by Reuters.
Scientists have consistently warned that the human-induced climate crisis, for which developed nations bear greater historical responsibility, has exacerbated the scale and intensity of regional storms, with countries in the Global South experiencing the worst impacts.
“It’s alarming to see our predictions from just last year already becoming a reality,” Benjamin Horton, a professor of earth science at City University, Hong Kong, told the Associated Press. “We are no longer predicting the future – we are living it.”