Typhoon Molave made landfall on October 28 just south of the Vietnamese resort city Da Nang. The coast was lashed with powerful rains and winds, and the typhoon inflicted further problems on an area that is still recovering from the deadly flooding last week.
Typhoon Molave sweeps the Vietnam coast
The typhoon hit as the equivalent of a Category 2 Atlantic hurricane. It has sustained winds of 165 kilometers per hour or 130 miles per hour. The storm is expected to bring dangerous winds and rains as it pushes over the mountains of Southeast Asia, causing potential landslides and flash floods.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that Typhoon Molave is very strong and is expected to impact a large area.
Around 310,000 homes were already damaged from the deadly flooding that happened last week, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies or IFRC. The organization warned that around 1.2 million people were in danger and need help.
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The IFRC stated that at least 150,000 people are at risk of hunger and food shortages after thousands of hectares of crops have been destroyed by the flood.
The Vietnamese government had made plans to evacuate 1.3 million people ahead of the landfall of the typhoon, and the military mobilized around 250,000 troops and 2,300 vehicles to be used for search and rescue missions, according to Vietnam News Agency.
October is one of the rainy season months in Vietnam, but the country was not prepared for the deadly floods and the typhoon. Molave is the fourth storm to make landfall in Vietnam this month alone, and it is the ninth storm to make landfall in the country this year, according to VNA.
Flooding in Vietnam
The storms this month prompted flooding in Vietnam's cities and provinces. Still, the flooding that happened last week was one of the worsts that the country has seen in decades, according to the president of Vietnam's Red Cross Society, Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu.
According to VNA, more than 7,200 hectares of food crops or 17,791 acres were destroyed by the flood, and more than 691,000 cattle and poultry were killed or were swept away. At least 16 national highways and 161,880 meters or 101 miles of local roads in four provinces were also damaged. Thousands of homes were destroyed and are still submerged in floodwater.
Due to the aftermath of the storm, many Vietnamese people are suffering as their livelihoods were affected. This is also on top of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The coronavirus only infected a small number of people in the country as the government responded to the pandemic efficiently. However, the country's decision to seal its borders has affected Vietnam's tourism, according to CNN.
IRFC's director of the office of the secretary-general, Christopher Rassi, said in a statement that a deadly double disaster had struck Vietnam. The typhoon may push millions of people further towards poverty.
The government is now looking for ways to help those affected by the floods last week and those that will be affected by Typhoon Molave.
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