The death toll from Typhoon Bualoi and the widespread flooding it triggered in Vietnam has risen to 51, the government said on Friday, as authorities ordered banks to step in and support storm-hit businesses.
According to the National Disaster Management Agency, Bualoi made landfall on Monday in northern central Vietnam, bringing towering sea swells, destructive winds and torrential rain. The storm has left 14 people missing and 164 others injured.
The agency raised its estimate of damage to 15.9 trillion dong ($603 million), up sharply from Thursday’s figure of $435.8 million. Roads, schools and government offices were heavily damaged, while power grid failures left tens of thousands of households without electricity.
More than 230,000 homes were damaged or submerged, and nearly 89,000 hectares of rice fields and other crops were destroyed. Despite the scale of destruction, officials said no major industrial facilities had reported significant damage.
Vietnam is a major regional manufacturing hub, with factories in the affected areas belonging to global corporations including Foxconn, Formosa Plastics, Luxshare and Vinfast.
Deputy central bank governor Pham Thanh Ha said on Friday that banks had been urged to restructure or freeze loans for companies hit by the disaster in order to support economic recovery.
Typhoon Bualoi is among the most destructive storms to hit Vietnam in recent years, underlining the country’s vulnerability to extreme weather events that have been increasing in intensity across Southeast Asia.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
