Typhoon Kajiki kills 3 in Vietnam, floods Hanoi streets

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A woman walks on a street while Typhoon Kajiki approaches Nghe An province, Vietnam, on Aug 25.

PHOTO: REUTERS

HANOI -

Typhoon Kajiki

The storm damaged nearly 7,000 homes, inundated 28,800 hectares of rice plantings and felled 18,000 trees, the government said in a statement.

It also brought down 331 electricity poles, causing widespread blackouts in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho provinces.

Photos on state media showed streets in the capital Hanoi were severely flooded as heavy rains fell on the morning of Aug 26.

After making landfall on Vietnams north central coast on the afternoon of Aug 25, Kajiki has since weakened to a tropical depression as it moved across to Laos on the morning of Aug 26, the national weather agency said.

The agency warned that rains will continue in several parts of northern Vietnam, with some areas likely to get up to 150mm of rain in six hours, potentially causing flash floods and landslides.

Before making landfall in Vietnam, Kajiki skirted the southern coast of Chinas Hainan Island on Aug 24, forcing Sanya City on the island to close businesses and public transport. REUTERS