Wipha brings rain, risk and ruin
Tropical Storm Wipha made landfall in northern Vietnam yesterday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to parts of the country's north and central regions.
The storm came ashore at 10am with maximum sustained winds of 102kph, according to local weather officials.
After landfall, it began moving southwest.
Wipha was classified as a typhoon on Monday while over open water, but weakened overnight and was downgraded to a tropical storm before reaching land.
The storm knocked out power in parts of Hung Yen province, east of Hanoi.
Residents rushed to gas stations to buy fuel for generators, state media reported.
The streets of capital city, Hanoi, were nearly empty as the storm moved inland.
Most businesses were closed and the city government has advised residents to stay home and evacuate buildings that are unstable or in flood-prone areas.
'If the storm is serious, people shouldn't go out anyway because it would be dangerous on the road and there is also a chance of flooding,' said Minh Doan, a taxi driver in Hanoi.
Flights were cancelled across northern Vietnam, and airports in the port city of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh province were closed.
Nearly 150,000ha of aquaculture farms and more than 20,000 floating fish cages are at risk from flooding and strong winds, according to state media.
Vietnam has warned of flooding as heavy rain from Storm Wipha moves inland.
In the Philippines, more than 80,000 people remain in emergency shelters after floods, landslides and tidal surges over the weekend.
Most government offices and schools in the capital and 10 provinces were shut yesterday due to widespread flooding from heavy monsoon rains, and troops evacuated residents from villages swamped by knee- to waist-deep water while the coast guard deployed buses and boats to assist stranded commuters. At least three people have also died.
Thailand's meteorological department warned of thunderstorms and possible flash floods from yesterday until tomorrow, especially in the country's north and northeast, while the south could experience tides as high as four meters.
The department advised small boats to avoid sailing during the period.
Global warming is making storms like Wipha stronger and wetter, said Benjamin P. Horton, dean of the School of Energy and Environment at City University of Hong Kong.
Warmer oceans give tropical storms more fuel, leading to more intense winds, heavier rain and shifting rainfall patterns across East Asia.
'Rising sea surface temperatures, fuelled by climate change, can intensify these storms,' he said.
On Sunday, Wipha, then at full typhoon strength, barrelled across Hong Kong and southern China.
As the storm passed Hong Kong, more than 110mm of rain fell within three hours and maximum wind gusts exceeded 167kph at some points, prompting authorities to issue their highest storm warning. — AP/Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Spain wildfire toll rises to three as blaze engulfs León region
MADRID: One person battling a wildfire in Spain's northwest Leon region has died, authorities said Thursday, raising the toll from the summer's fire season to three. "Today, we mourn a new death of a person who was part of the firefighting operation in the province of Leon, more specifically in the Valderia region," Nicanor Sen Velez, prefect for Castile and Leon, wrote on X. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska confirmed the death to the public broadcaster, while offering condolences to the victim's family, colleagues and community. The death comes just after the interior minister had appealed to the European Union for help in fighting the fires. The government was particularly calling for two water-bombing planes after regional authorities said almost 6,000 people from 26 localities had been evacuated from their homes. Thursday's death comes after a man had died due to severe burns he received in a blaze some 25 kilometres from Madrid. That same evening, a 35-year-old volunteer died while fighting another blaze in the Leon region. Spain is among several European countries experiencing scorching temperatures this week that fuel wildfires and which scientists say human-induced climate change is intensifying. A total of 199 wildfires have scorched nearly 98,784 hectares (244,100 acres) across Spain this year – more than double the area burned during the same period in 2024.--AFP
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Chinese mountaineer dies on Pakistan's K2
KHAPLU, Pakistan: A Chinese mountaineer died while descending the world's second-highest peak, with Pakistani rescuers waiting on Thursday (Aug 14) for weather conditions to improve to recover her body. Guan Jing was descending from the summit of K2 on Tuesday night when she was hit by falling rocks, Deputy Commissioner for Shigar district Arif Ahmad told AFP. "An army aviation team is ready for the recovery of the body and is waiting for better weather conditions," he said. According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan, which monitors local climbing expeditions, Guan is the fourth casualty of the country's summer climbing season. Guan was among 30 climbers who reached the summit of K2 on Monday before beginning her fatal descent. "The incident occurred on the Abruzzi Spur route between Camp I and Advanced Base Camp - a section notorious for frequent rockfalls," the Alpine Club said. At 8,611 metres, K2 on the Pakistan-China border sits 238 metres shy of world-topping Himalayan giant Everest but is considered more technically challenging. Home to five of the world's 14 mountains above 8,000 metres, Pakistan typically welcomes an influx of summer climbers from early June until late August. This season, four deaths have been reported, including two on K2, one on Nanga Parbat and one on the lesser-known Laila Peak in the Karakoram range where German Olympic biathlete Laura Dahlmeier died after being hit by falling rocks last month. - AFP
The Sun
6 hours ago
- The Sun
Thousands battle Greece fires as heatwave bakes Europe
PATRAS: Greece battled a dozen major wildfires on Wednesday, including one threatening its third-largest city Patras, as a heatwave stoked blazes and forced the evacuation of thousands in southern Europe. Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, the Balkans and Britain have this week wilted in high temperatures that fuel wildfires and which scientists say human-induced climate change is intensifying. Greece Thousands of firefighters backed by the army deployed across Greece, with fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis saying 'the situation remains difficult' for 'forces waging a tough battle'. 'It's a cocktail of high temperatures, strong winds... and minimal humidity,' the head of civil protection for Western Greece, Nikos Gyftakis, told public broadcaster ERT. AFP journalists saw residents and firefighters backed by helicopters frantically attempt to douse flames in scrubland and forests outside Patras, with thick smoke reducing visibility. Officials evacuated 12 children from a Patras hospital, Vathrakogiannis said. Eighty elderly people were removed from a retirement home, and local media footage showed the roof of a nearby 17th-century monastery ablaze. Other fronts were burning on the popular Ionian tourist islands of Zante and Cephalonia and the Aegean island of Chios, scarred by a huge wildfire in June that ravaged more than 4,000 hectares. Around 20 villages were evacuated in the western Achaia region on Tuesday, while the Greek coastguard said nearly 80 people were removed from Chios and near Patras. Vathrakogiannis said 71 people had received medical care, mostly in the western town of Preveza and the Patras area. After Greece requested four water bombers from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to bolster its resources, the main opposition PASOK Socialist party questioned the conservative government's preparedness for fires that strike every year. 'A fully reformed civil protection system with an emphasis on prevention is required,' PASOK said, identifying a poor coordination of forces and a lack of local emergency plans that made firefighting 'extremely challenging'. Spain Wildfires dominated the news in Spain, where flames have threatened a world heritage Roman mining site in the northwestern region of Castile and Leon. Regional authorities said almost 6,000 people from 26 localities had been evacuated from their homes, while seven people had been admitted to hospital for burns, including four in critical condition. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said late Wednesday that Spain had asked the European Union for help, including the deployment of two water-bombing planes. He urged European partners to deploy the planes quickly given 'weather forecasts' that could worsen the blazes, telling broadcaster Cadena Ser radio that Spain would also request firefighter deployments if necessary. Bushy undergrowth and searing temperatures that have baked Spain for almost two weeks had created 'the worst possible breeding ground for this situation', said Castile and Leon's civil protection head Irene Cortes. A total of 199 wildfires have scorched nearly 98,784 hectares (244,100 acres) across Spain this year -- more than double the area burned during the same period in 2024. Portugal Neighbouring Portugal deployed more than 2,100 firefighters and 20 aircraft against five major blazes, with efforts focused on a fire in the central municipality of Trancoso that has raged since Saturday. Strong gusts of wind had rekindled flames overnight and threatened nearby villages, where television images showed locals volunteering to help firefighters under a thick cloud of smoke. 'It's scary... but we are always ready to help each other,' a mask-wearing farmer told Sic Noticias television, holding a spade in his hand. A separate fire in a mountainous zone of Arganil in central Portugal smothered several villages with smoke, prompting the evacuation of elderly residents in particular. Balkans Dozens of blazes stretched emergency services in the Balkans, where a severe drought and a prolonged heatwave have exacerbated the region's traditional fire season. An 80-year-old man died in Albania late Tuesday after he lost control of a fire he had started in his garden. The blaze quickly spread to neighbouring homes, injuring eight people. Authorities have evacuated residents in parts of central and southern Albania, but easing weather conditions in neighbouring Montenegro helped firefighters protect homes. The country mourned a soldier who died in a water truck overturn near the capital Podgorica on Tuesday, with the defence ministry speaking of a 'heavy loss'. Britain Historically temperate Britain sweated through its fourth heatwave of the summer, with the previously unthinkable prospect of wildfires now a real threat. A blaze in northern England's North York Moors national park was declared a 'major incident' on Wednesday and covered around five square kilometres (nearly two square miles), firefighters said - AFP
