Over 586,000 inhabitants have been evacuated as the typhoon Kajiki reaches Vietnam's coast with wind speeds of over 36 meters per second on Monday, according to authorities in Vietnam. The wind has subsided somewhat, as speeds of over 45 meters per second were measured when Kajiki slowly moved past China's southeastern coast over the weekend, reports the British BBC.
In the hurricane's wake, nearly ten meters high waves poured over the land.
The hurricane's impact is strengthened by the fact that it has stood still for several hours over Vietnam, according to the country's meteorological institute.
I have never heard of a typhoon that has struck our city with such strength, says Le Manh Tung who has sought refuge in a sports arena in the coastal city of Vinh in central Vietnam.
I am a little scared, but we must accept what happens – it is nature and we cannot do anything about it, he continues to the news agency AFP.
Vietnam's Vice Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has visited evacuation facilities, often located in elementary schools, in the affected city of Ha Tinh near the country's eastern coast.
The airports in the provinces of Than Hoa and Quang Binh have been closed and air traffic in the area has been canceled.
Vietnam is hit annually by several typhoons, but measurements show that the strength of the storms seems to be increasing. Last year, the hurricane Yagi struck the region in one of the worst storms in 30 years. Over 500 people perished in the storm that affected northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar in September.
