Airports Shut, Thousands Evacuated As Vietnam Braces For Typhoon Kajiki

The typhoon downed trees and soaked China’s southern Hainan island on Sunday before moving over the Gulf of Tonkin overnight with sustained wind speeds of 166 kph (103 mph), according to Vietnam’s national weather forecast agency, the equivalent to a Category 2 Atlantic hurricane.

More than 40,000 people had been evacuated in low-lying coastal communities as of Monday morning, according to the state-run VN Express. Residents have been told not to leave their homes between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time, the state Vietnamese News Agency (VNA) reported.

Kajiki is the fifth typhoon to hit Vietnam this year and the most powerful, having sustained its intensity as it churned toward the coast.

Ahead of landfall, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh warned the storm could unleash heavy rainfall, flash floods and landslides especially for the low-lying coastal areas, according to Vietnamese state media.

“This is an extremely dangerous fast-moving storm,” the government said in a statement Sunday night, Reuters news agency reported.

Kajiki is expected to make landfall in the central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An late afternoon into evening local time, as either a weak typhoon or strong tropical storm. Thanh Hoa is about 166 kilometers (103 miles) south of Hanoi.