Maroc - POPDIARIES.COM - A La Une - 10/Sep 03:56

Vietnam Storm Toll Surges to 64 as Bridge Collapses and Floods Sweep Away Bus

A bridge collapsed and a bus was swept away by floods in Vietnam on Monday, September 9, 2024, escalating the death toll to at least 64. The fatalities resulted from Typhoon Yagi and the heavy rains that followed, which also caused significant damage to factories in northern industrial regions focused on exports, according to state media. Earlier, nine people had died on Saturday, September 7, when Typhoon Yagi made landfall in Vietnam and then weakened into a tropical depression. The remaining deaths occurred due to floods and landslides on Sunday and Monday, VN Express reported.  On Monday morning, a bus carrying 20 passengers was carried away by a landslide into a flooded stream in the mountainous Cao Bang province. Four bodies were recovered from the bus, and one person was rescued alive, but the rest remain missing. In Phu Tho province, rescue efforts were ongoing after a steel bridge over the swollen Red River collapsed. Reports indicate that ten cars, several trucks, and two motorbikes fell into the river. Some individuals were rescued and taken to hospitals, but at least ten people are still unaccounted for. Nguyen Minh Hai, who fell into the river, recounted his fear to Vietnam Television, saying, "I was terrified when I fell. I felt like I narrowly escaped death. I can't swim, and I thought I would drown." Pham Truong Son, 50, shared with VN Express that he was riding his motorcycle on the bridge when he heard a loud noise and suddenly found himself falling into the river. “It felt like I was sinking to the riverbed,” Son said, explaining that he managed to stay afloat by grabbing onto a drifting banana tree until he was rescued. In Haiphong province, many businesses remain shut due to extensive damage to their factories. The state newspaper Lao Dong reported that factory roofs were torn apart, and water infiltration ruined both finished goods and costly equipment. Some companies reported ongoing power outages and estimated it could take at least a month to resume production. Parts of Haiphong and Quang Ninh provinces were still without electricity on Monday. These regions are key industrial hubs, hosting numerous factories that export goods, including EV manufacturer VinFast and Apple suppliers Pegatrong and USI. Authorities are still evaluating the extent of the damage to factories, but initial estimates suggest that nearly 100 enterprises have been affected, leading to millions of dollars in losses, according to the newspaper. READ MORE -  DID YOU KNOW? Humans Lose Approximately 600,000 Skin Cells Every Hour