Vietnam races to prepare for Typhoon Wipha as Philippines suffers storm deaths
The typhoon is forecast to bring powerful winds and heavy rainfall, raising the risk of flash floods and landslides in northern Vietnam's mountainous areas and flooding in urban centers, including Hanoi.
'This is a very strong storm, moving fast, with a wide and dangerous impact on both land and sea,' Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said in a directive to government agencies. He ordered all fishing boats, cargo ships and tourist vessels to return to shore and urged the evacuation of people in high-risk areas.
The storm has already proved deadly in the Philippines, where it intensified monsoon rains and killed at least three people over the weekend, including one who drowned and two others struck by falling trees. Philippine officials were checking reports of three more deaths, while seven people, including two children, remained missing. Floods, landslides and debris affected over 800,000 people, with about 90,000 forced to evacuate, authorities said.
Hundreds of cruise ships have anchored in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay after authorities suspended all tourist boat services due to the storm. A tourist boat capsized there during a thunderstorm over the weekend, ahead of the typhoon's arrival, killing at least 37 people. Ongoing bad weather is expected to complicate the search for the missing.
National carrier Vietnam Airlines and its affiliate Pacific Airlines canceled at least nine domestic flights on Monday, with more delays expected. Budget airline Vietjet canceled 12 flights including international routes to South Korea.
Local authorities have deployed rescue crews and stocked food and medical supplies while working to secure telecommunications infrastructure. State media reported nearly 150,000 hectares (370,658 acres) of aquaculture farms and more than 20,000 floating fish cages could be at risk from flooding and high winds.
Emergency warnings have been sent to millions of residents by text message. Forecasters expect Wipha to make landfall between Hai Phong and Thanh Hoa provinces early Tuesday, with wind gusts reaching up to 166 kilometers (103 miles) per hour.
Vietnam is no stranger to tropical storms. But climate experts said such storms were getting stronger due to global warming since warmer ocean waters provide more energy to fuel the storms. This results in increased wind speeds and heavier rainfall.
Last year, Typhoon Yagi killed about 300 people and caused $3.3 billion in damage, reducing GDP growth by 0.15%.
___
Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receive support from several private foundations. See more about AP's climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
4 hours ago
- Sky News
Dozens dead as storm sweeps through the Philippines
A fierce tropical storm has torn through the Philippines' mountainous north, in a a week which has already seen floods and landslides claim at least 25 lives. Typhoon Co-may struck the town of Agno in Pangasinan province Thursday night with winds reaching speeds of 120 kilometres (74 miles) per hour. By Friday afternoon, as it moved northeast, the typhoon had weakened slightly. Co-may struck after seasonal monsoon rains drenched a vast part of the country for over a week. More than a dozen additional tropical storms are expected to strike the Southeast Asian nation before the end of the year, forecasts show. At least 25 deaths have been reported since last weekend, mostly due to flash floods, toppled trees, landslides, and electrocution, according to officials. A further eight people have been reported missing. Schools in the capital, Manila, remained closed for the third consecutive day on Friday, with classes also suspended in 35 provinces across the main northern region of Luzon. Over 80 towns and cities, mostly in Luzon, have declared a state of calamity, enabling quicker access to emergency funds and the freezing of prices on essential goods. The weather has forced 278,000 people to seek refuge in emergency shelters or with relatives. According to the government's disaster response agency, close to 3,000 homes have suffered damage. Thousands of military personnel, police officers, coast guard members, firefighters, and civilian volunteers have been deployed to assist in rescuing residents. Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited emergency shelters Thursday in Rizal province to help distribute food packs to displaced residents. "Everything has changed," Marcos said. He subsequently called an emergency meeting with disaster-response officials, warning that both the government and the public need to adapt to the increasing frequency and unpredictability of natural disasters due to climate change. The United States has pledged to provide military aircraft to assist in transporting food and other aid to remote areas if weather conditions deteriorate further. The Philippines is struck by around 20 typhoons and storms every year and frequently experiences earthquakes and volcanic activity, making it one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Asylum seekers refusing to leave hotels risk homelessness
Single adult male asylum seekers who refuse to move out of hotels into "suitable alternative accommodation" will risk becoming homeless, the Home Office has said. The government - which is legally obligated to house destitute asylum seekers - says its new "Failure to Travel" guidance would establish "clear consequences for those who game the system".According to Home Office sources, hundreds of migrants are refusing to be transferred from hotels to other forms of accomodation every comes as the government is coming under pressure to reduce the number of hotels being used for asylum accommodation. The past week has seen a series of demonstrations in Epping close to a hotel housing asylum seekers. Ministers have said the government wants to end the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers by 2029 and has been trying to move people into cheaper types of accommodation. The numbers in hotels had been increasing since 2020, and reached a peak of more than 50,000 in 2023. In March 2025, the asylum hotel population stood at 32,345. New guidance issued on Friday to Home Office caseworkers and asylum accommodation providers stated that some asylum seekers' "failure to travel to appropriate accommodation" was undermining "the overall efficiency of the asylum support system".Under the rules, individuals being moved from hotels would be given at least five days' notice in who persistently fail to move would be evicted from their accommodation and could see their financial support general, asylum seekers are not allowed to work while they are waiting for the government to process their application to stay in the UK. To help with costs for food, clothing and toiletries, they are usually given around £49.18 per week per person. The previous Conservative government took a similar approach when it threatened to take away support from those who refused to board the Bibby Stockholm, a barge that had been used for accommodation. Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said the guidance was "another example of this government's action to transform the asylum accommodation system and crack down on those who abuse our system, so it operates fairly and saves the taxpayer money".Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Lisa Smart MP said it was "right that the government is taking steps to end the use of asylum hotels".But she added: "To more effectively tackle the scale of the problem, the government should be focused on stopping dangerous Channel crossings through improved cross-border cooperation and reducing the need to pay for asylum accommodation altogether by scrapping the ban on asylum seekers working."
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
UK braces for disaster: A fifth of Brits say war 'likely' in next two years while half expect power cuts chaos and deep freezes... so are YOU ready?
Brits are bracing for disaster with half expecting long power cuts in the next two years - and a fifth saying war is likely. The extent of public concern has been laid bare in government research, with the overwhelming majority worried the threat to the country is rising on a variety of fronts. There are also doubts about readiness for crises, with 51 per cent saying the UK was 'not at all' or only 'slightly' prepared. Nearly three-quarters were not confident that if power and water were lost their household could last out more than three days without outside help and supplies. Some 51 per cent admitted making no basic preparations in the past 12 months, such as having conversations with family about what they would do in case of an emergency More than 10,000 people took part in the Risk Perception, Resilience and Preparedness Survey, with the results weighted to represent the wider population. It was commissioned by the Cabinet Office and Department for Environment. Two thirds expect the number of emergencies to increase at little or a lot over the next decade. Some 55 per cent thought that it was 'likely' or 'very likely' that a storm severe enough to cause major disruption would affect their area in the next two years. Extreme cold weather was anticipated by 48 per cent over the same period, while 42 per cent thought a heatwave would cause trouble. A power cut that lasts for more than 12 hours was considered likely by 47 per cent - and 39 per cent said the same thing about a cyber attack that affected critical infrastructure. A water outage lasting for over 12 hours was anticipated by 35 per cent. War was seen as 'likely' in the next two years by 14 per cent, amid rising tensions with states such as Russia and China. A further 6 per cent said it was 'very likely'. That was roughly the same level as fear about terrorist attacks and wildfire in local areas. A third thought another human pandemic was on the cards, and a similar proportion said it was likely they would need to be evacuated due to flooding. Rioting and looting was mentioned as 'likely' by a quarter - amid warnings that the country is facing a repeat of last summer's unrest in the coming weeks. Despite the high level of concern about potential disasters, there was not a strong sense that the country was in a resilient position. Just 15 per cent thought the UK was 'totally' or 'largely' prepared for what could come, according to the research carried out between March and April. Some 51 per cent admitted they had made no basic preparations in the past year, such as having conversations with family about what they would do in case of an emergency. In case of power, gas and water being shut off 14 per cent thought they would last less than a day without outside help and supplies. Just 8 per cent were confident they could last a week or more. A Government spokesman said: 'This survey will inform our work with households, communities and first responders to keep the country safe. 'Last month we published a Resilience Action Plan, that sets out all the steps we're taking to build resilience, from investing £4.2billion in flood defences, to raising awareness of lifesaving advice on and testing the emergency alerts system across the country on September 7 2025.'
