Typhoon Haiyan makes landfall in Vietnam

Hanoi, Nov 11: Typhoon Haiyan, described as one of the world's most powerful winds, made landfall in northern Vietnam early Monday as a tropical storm, just days after leaving massive destruction in the Philippines.

The Vietnamese national weather forecast agency said Haiyan made landfall in northern province of Quang Ninh at 5 a.m on Monday as a tropical storm and was moving toward southern China, where it is expected to weaken to a low depression later Monday.

No casualties or major damage have been reported.

No casualties or major damage have been reported

It slammed into six central Philippine islands on Friday as the strongest typhoon of the year and one of the strongest on record. It appears to be the deadliest storm - and natural disaster - on record to hit the Philippines, with officials saying that as many as 10,000 people are believed dead.

Even as people are reeling from the effect of the storm, aid agencies are already reaching there with food and essential supplies. The Guardian reported that the first batch of aid has already reached the country and more will arrive soon.

Haiyan hit the eastern seaboard of the Philippine archipelago on Friday and quickly barreled across its central islands before exiting into the South China Sea, packing winds of 235 kilometers per hour (147 miles per hour) that gusted to 275 kph (170 mph), and a storm surge that caused sea waters to rise 6 meters (20 feet).

It wasn't until Sunday that the scale of the devastation became clear, with local officials on hardest-hit Leyte Island saying that there may be 10,000 dead in the provincial capital of Tacloban alone.

Reports also trickled in from elsewhere on the island, and from neighboring islands, indicating hundreds, if not thousands of more deaths, though it will be days before the full extent of the storm's impact can be assessed, reported AP.

OneIndia News
(With agency inputs)