(Bloomberg) -- Flooding triggered by Super Typhoon Yagi that claimed the lives of scores of people in Vietnam is threatening the nation’s northern regions that include its electronics hub and capital of Hanoi.
The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting warns of more flash floods and landslides in northern provinces caused by continuing heavy rain at least through Thursday, according to a posting on the government’s website.
Yagi, which made landfall in northern Vietnam Saturday, created a swath of destruction before weakening to a tropical storm. The death toll stood at 86 people with 70 others missing as of late Tuesday afternoon, according to state television VTV. More than 750 people have been injured, state radio Voice of Vietnam reported.
About 149,000 hectares of north Vietnam rice fields have been flooded and 26,200 hectares of other crops damaged, state radio reported on its website.
Authorities on Tuesday afternoon banned all traffic on Hanoi’s Long Bien Bridge over the rising Red River, which reached its highest level in 16 years, VnExpress news website reported. A flooding Red River could affect the lives of hundreds of thousand of Hanoi residents in 13 city districts, it said.
Vietnam requested China to control upstream water releases so as not to add to flooding problems, according to a statement on the Vietnam government’s website.
Apple Inc. suppliers, Samsung Electronics Co. and other electronics manufacturers with operations spread across northern provinces such as Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang and the port city of Haiphong appear to have avoided major damage so far, officials said.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh Tuesday morning visited “seriously flooded areas” in Bac Giang, according to a government website posting. The province’s industrial parks are operating normally, said Nguyen Dai Luong, chairman of the People’s Committee in Viet Yen district, which houses plants for Luxshare Precision Industry Co. and Foxconn Technology Co.
About 95% of factories in Haiphong’s industrial parks and the city’s seaport have resumed operations, said Le Trung Kien, head of Haiphong’s Economic Zone Authority. In Bac Ninh, where Foxconn and GoerTek Inc. operate factories, industrial parks are operating normally, said Nguyen Duc Long, deputy head of the Bac Ninh Industrial Zones Management Board. Officials monitored company infrastructure and roads leading to complexes around the clock during the storm, he said.
In Thai Nguyen, where Samsung produces electronics products, industrial parks haven’t been disrupted by flooding, said Le Kim Phuc, head of the province’s industrial parks management board.
“Some factories’ roofs were blown off and some trees collapsed, but all factories are operating normally with about 90% of workers able to come to work,” said Le Kim Phuc, head of Thai Nguyen’s industrial parks management board.
The Hanoi People’s Committee warned of flooding rivers and streets, according to news website VnExpress. As of Tuesday morning, 460 people had been evacuated from the city’s central Hoan Kiem district due to rising floodwaters in residential areas, VnExpress reported. In nearby Thai Nguyen province, 2,000 people have been evacuated, it said.
The People’s Committee in the northern province of Lao Cai bordering China declared a state of emergency after 23 people died and at least 17 others remained missing as a result of the storm.
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Flooding of Thao River in the mountainous province of Lao Cai could exceed historic flood levels, according to local media.
At least 10 people are missing after their vehicles plunged into the Red River with the collapse of a bridge in Phu Tho Province Monday morning, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.
--With assistance from Nguyen Xuan Quynh and Linh Vu Nguyen.
(Updates with new details throughout the story.)
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