Typhoon Yagi: Evacuations in Hanoi as death toll passes 150

Thousands of people were evacuated from Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, on Wednesday as the death toll from Typhoon Yagi passed 150.

Weather authorities said Hanoi's Red River had reached its highest level in 20 years, threatening residents along the swollen banks.

"We are bringing them to public buildings turned into temporary shelters or they can stay with relatives. There has been so much rain and the water is rising quickly," a Hanoi police officer told the AFP news agency.

Yagi also caused a landslide that engulfed the remote mountain village of Lang Nu in Lao Cai province, state media reported on Wednesday.

The landslide, which occurred on Tuesday, killed at least 22 people in the village that was home to around 35 families.

"Authorities are mobilizing forces to approach the landslide area to continue the search for survivors," district party chief Hoang Quoc Bao said.

The government estimated around 140 people were still missing nationwide.

Floods across parts of Southeast Asia

Typhoon Yagi also brought torrential rains and floods to areas of northern Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. Damage was also reported in China.

At least two people were killed in Thailand and hundreds more were left stranded across two provinces.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said around 9,000 households had been impacted.

"Water currents are still strong," she told reporters.

"All agencies are prepared and when the current eases, they will go in immediately."

Benjamin Horton, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said that storms like Typhoon Yagi are "getting stronger due to climate change, primarily because warmer ocean waters provide more energy to fuel the storms, leading to increased wind speeds and heavier rainfall."

zc/kb (AFP, Reuters, AP)