People use boats to get to their flooded homes in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi in An Lac village, Hanoi, Vietnam Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. - AP
HANOI (dpa): The death toll in Vietnam from typhoon Yagi has risen to 262, with 83 people still missing, authorities said on Saturday.
Typhoon Yagi - the strongest typhoon to strike northern Vietnam in around 30 years - swept across the region a week ago, bringing ferocious winds and torrential rain.
More than 1,900 people were injured, the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority said in a report released on Saturday.
The victims include 48 dead and 36 missing in a village that was completely destroyed and swept away on September 10 in Bao Yen district, Lao Cai province.
The bodies of another 30 people were found around the site where a bus, 5 cars and 10 motorbikes were swept away in Cao Bang province a day earlier.
According to disaster control, the tropical storm damaged some 170,000 houses, while more than 73,000 are still under water.
Nearly 2 million farm animals, mainly poultry and livestock, were killed and almost 200,000 hectares of rice fields have been significantly damaged.
Flood waters have since receded but affected areas are still grappling with the cleanup effort.
Hanoi is struggling to clear 40,000 fallen trees one week after Yagi hit, blocking streets and disrupting daily life.
Millions of children in northern Vietnam are in urgent need of support following the typhoon, with some 3 million people left without access to safe drinking water and sanitation, the UN's children's agency UNICEF said in a report.
Some 550 health facilities and more than 800 schools have been damaged, with 2 million pupils at risk of disruptions to learning and protection, according to the agency.
UNICEF, assuming that some 19 million people - or one fifth of Vietnam's population - has been affected, estimates that an initial $15 million is needed to address critical needs of affected children and families.
Yagi had previously swept across the Philippines and China, causing death and destruction there as well.
The typhoon has since also hit Myanmar and Thailand. - dpa
