Millions of people across Southeast Asia are grappling with widespread destruction following the onslaught of Typhoon Yagi, which has caused severe flooding, power outages, and damaged infrastructure.
As of Thursday, the death toll has climbed past 200, with Vietnam suffering the greatest losses.
According to the AFP Vietnamese officials report 197 fatalities, while neighboring Thailand has confirmed eight deaths. One district in northern Thailand is experiencing its worst floods in 80 years.
The powerful storm made landfall in Vietnam over the weekend, bringing relentless rain that triggered floods and landslides across northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar.
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” said Tu, a Vietnamese farmer whose 1,800-square-meter peach blossom plantation was submerged by floodwaters. “I think I will lose up to $40,000 this season. I really don’t know what to do now.”
More than 250,000 hectares of farmland in Vietnam have been devastated, along with large numbers of livestock, according to the country’s agriculture ministry.
Around Hanoi, floodwaters have disrupted daily life, with some commuters wading through shin-deep water on their way to work. River levels in the capital hit a 20-year high on Wednesday, though officials say the situation is beginning to improve.
In Vietnam’s mountainous Lao Cai province, landslides have claimed at least seven lives, with 11 others still missing. Another landslide in the region wiped out an entire village, killing at least 34 people, while 46 remain unaccounted for.
Across the region, evacuation efforts are underway. Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, while many others are facing power outages and limited access to clean water.
In Thailand’s Chiang Mai province, a landslide claimed four more lives, pushing the national death toll to eight. Mae Sai district, on the Myanmar border, is experiencing its most severe flooding in decades.
“This is the worst flooding we’ve seen in 80 years,” said Suttipong Juljarern, a senior official with Thailand’s interior ministry.
The Thai government has deployed military units to support relief efforts, including helicopters for aerial surveys of the worst-affected areas.
Local Buddhist temples, hotels, and resorts have also opened their doors to provide shelter to nearly 1,000 people displaced by the floods.
In Myanmar, the worst flooding is centered around the capital Naypyidaw and the town of Taungoo, where river levels continue to rise. Train services between Yangon and Mandalay have been suspended due to submerged tracks, according to Myanmar’s state-run newspaper.
Experts have warned that climate change is contributing to more severe weather patterns across Southeast Asia. Studies show that warming ocean temperatures are causing typhoons to form closer to land, intens
