Storm Kajiki leaves widespread destruction across north-central Vietnam

The storm made landfall in Nghe An and Ha Tinh Provinces on Monday afternoon, bringing maximum sustained winds near the eye of level 12 (118–133 km/h) and gusts reaching levels 13–14.

By midnight on Monday, the storm's center was still located over land in southern Nghe An and northern Ha Tinh, with winds of level 9–10 (75–102 km/h), gusting to level 12.

Ha Tinh

On Tuesday morning, along the coastal roads in Loc Ha Commune, Ha Tinh Province, numerous trees were seen uprooted, while houses lost their roofs, and many tin roofs collapsed.

After a night of violent winds, four houses belonging to Vo Phuc Sinh, a 74-year-old local resident, and his children were left in ruins. Roof tiles and tin sheets were blown away. 

One house had its entire sunshade structure torn down.

“There was a storm in 1988, but I’ve never seen a storm as fierce as this one. I had secured the house, but the roof was still torn off, the tin sheets flew away, and the walls collapsed,” Sinh said.

Vo Hong Ha, 53, also suffered severe damage when the tin roof in front of his house collapsed, crushing his motorbike. His tiled roof was also torn apart.

“Around 10:00 pm on August 25, after about 20 minutes of calm, the wind suddenly reversed direction and blew fiercely, pulling down my ceiling and soaking a metric ton of rice," Ha recounted.

“I’m 53 years old and have never seen a storm as prolonged and intense as this one."

In a small, old house with a blown-off roof, Nguyen Thi Hien from Ha Tinh said she feared the house would collapse during the storm.

“I wanted to take the kids out, but the rain and wind were too strong, and the power was out. We huddled together in a room as the roof was torn off, praying the house wouldn’t fall,” she recalled.

Speaking with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, Nguyen Viet Cuong, chairman of the administration in Loc Ha Commune, stated that the storm damaged or blew off the roofs of around 1,000 homes.

“By 1:00 am, the storm was still raging. Many trees had fallen, and we immediately deployed forces to clear them and ensure road access. This morning, local authorities are working with residents to assess damage and provide assistance,” Cuong said.

Preliminary reports from Ha Tinh indicate the storm caused one death and injured nine people.

Seven houses collapsed, 1,200 homes were deeply flooded, and 6,300 roofs were blown off.

Additionally, 47 schools, five medical facilities, and seven cultural sites were damaged; 21,000 hectares of rice and 1,600 hectares of crops were flooded or flattened; and 4,000 tons of seafood was lost.

Tens of thousands of trees were toppled, and many roads, irrigation systems, power grids, and communications infrastructure were ravaged.

Local authorities are monitoring post-storm floods and mobilizing all available personnel and equipment for rescue operations.

They are continuing to evacuate residents from mountainous areas at risk of landslides, flash floods, and deep flooding; as well as providing temporary shelter, food, and medical care.

Authorities are assisting in repairing homes, schools, and public facilities, cleaning up the environment, and preventing disease outbreaks.

Pham Viet Thang, deputy director of Ha Tinh Power Company, said on Tuesday that the company was concentrating all resources to restore power. However, as of this morning, 452,688 customers were still without electricity.

According to the company, 19 medium- and low-voltage power lines and 35 transformer stations had been restored, bringing electricity back to 56,606 customers.

Nevertheless, 452,688 customers (about 90 percent) were still experiencing outages. Of the province’s 69 wards and communes, 64 remained entirely without power.

The storm damaged two 110kV transmission poles, tilted or downed 70 medium-voltage poles, and severed over 20,000 meters of electrical wiring, with losses totaling VND8 billion (US$304,418).

Nghe An

Many trees were uprooted or broken along roads after storm Kajiki passed through.

Numerous homes were damaged or lost roofs. Even after hours since the storm’s landfall, heavy rain persisted on Tuesday morning, and many roads remained flooded, hampering transportation.

Currently, wards such as Cua Lo, and others in former Vinh City, including Thanh Vinh, Truong Vinh, Vinh Hung, Vinh Phu, and Vinh Loc, are still without power.

Authorities and local residents are working to clear fallen trees and ensure safe traffic flow.

Many locals said this was the strongest and longest-lasting storm they had witnessed in years.

Residents in the coastal commune of Quynh Phu noted that despite the storm's strength, proactive measures helped minimize damage.

At a meeting on Tuesday morning, Nghe An Party secretary Nguyen Duc Trung stated that although the storm was complex and had an unpredictable direction and speed, accurate forecasts had allowed for effective preparation.

So far, the province has reported no fatalities directly caused by the storm, except for one person who died from electrocution on August 24 while reinforcing a roof in Bich Hao Commune.

Two others were injured. Property damage includes 91 damaged houses, many with blown-off roofs, and 30 homes flooded.

The province is focusing on restoring transport, communications, and power supply.

Thanh Hoa

From Monday to Tuesday morning, heavy rains triggered landslides, falling trees, and river flooding that disrupted traffic on several parts of National Highway 15C.

National Highway 15C is a vital route connecting lowland and mountainous communes in Thanh Hoa Province.

Ha Thi Cuoi, secretary of the Nam Xuan Commune Party Committee, said that on Tuesday morning, local authorities and organizations were mobilized to clear debris and landslides along the highway to reopen the road.

At present, drivers heading to highland communes such as Nam Xuan, Hien Kiet, Trung Ly, Nhi Son, Pu Nhi, Tam Chung, Muong Lat, Quang Chieu, and Muong Chanh are advised to consider travel conditions carefully before departing.

To respond to the storm, the Thanh Hoa Department of Construction had readied 134 bulldozers, excavators, cranes, and rollers; 101 vehicles; and 590 personnel for emergency road repair operations.

The department is working with localities to monitor and guard dangerous areas such as flooded fords and landslide-prone zones, guiding traffic and prohibiting travel when conditions are unsafe during floods.