Typhoon Lekima slams into central Vietnam
At least 7 people have lost their lives, while scores of others were injured as Typhoon Lekima smashed into central Vietnam last night.
The category 1 typhoon packed winds of 72 mph (117 km/h), tearing off roofs and cutting power supplies to many villages. Torrential rain lashed the countryside inundating vast areas of rice fields and flooding thousands of homes. The typhoon saw the cancellation of hundreds of flights, with many towns shutting down their schools to use as temporary shelters for the local residents.
Before typhoon Lekima hit the country, authorities evacuated around 85,000 people from high-risk areas in preparation for the oncoming storm. Forecasters expect the typhoon to decrease rapidly in strength as it has now made landfall, and is expected to produce outbreaks of heavy rain as it reaches Laos later today.
Meanwhile, out in the Philippine Sea, the next typhoon ‘Krosa’ has quickly intensified into a category 4 storm. Over the next several days, typhoon Krosa is on a track that will take it north of the Philippines, and over the northern portion of Taiwan before finally reaching the coast of China. Further updates will appear here.
