Typhoon Bualoi kills 36, causes $450M in damages across Vietnam
Typhoon Bualoi has left 36 dead, 21 missing and 147 injured in Vietnam, causing widespread destruction and more than VND11.4 trillion ($450 million) in damages as of Thursday.
The storm destroyed 160 houses and damaged nearly 155,000 more, while over 51,000 hectares of crops, 13,400 hectares of aquaculture, 1,600 cattle and 405,000 poultry were lost. More than 1,400 schools were affected. Roads in northern and north-central provinces suffered over 6,800 landslide and flood points, blocking traffic, and more than 8,200 utility poles and 65,000 trees were toppled, cutting power to 2.7 million customers.
Ha Tinh Province suffered the heaviest economic loss at VND6 trillion ($227.2 million), followed by Lao Cai with VND2.75 trillion and Nghe An with VND1.6 trillion.
Floodwaters are now receding in the north as rainfall eases. At Yen Bai station in Lao Cai, the Thao River has dropped more than four meters since Sept. 30. In Hanoi, however, the Red River rose Thursday morning to 9.52 meters, above the first alarm level.
In Tuyen Quang which has been merged with Ha Giang, the Lo River remains up to 0.8 meters above alarm level three, while the Gam River at Chiem Hoa is still 3.3 meters above alarm level three, worsened by water releases from Tuyen Quang hydropower dam and inflows from China.
The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said in the next 12 hours, rivers’ levels will drop but high water will still flood low-lying areas, strain dikes and embankments, and disrupt transport and aquaculture.
As rainfall decreases, authorities have reduced landslide and flash flood warnings: only 11 communes in Tuyen Quang remain at risk, down from 46 on Wednesday, while seven communes in Nghe An and four in Ha Tinh are still on alert.
Hydropower plants are gradually closing spillways. Tuyen Quang still has six of eight gates open, Thac Ba two gates, Trung Son and Ban Ve four each, while Hoa Binh has shut all gates.
By Gia Chinh – VnExpress.net – October 2, 2025