Typhoon Yagi collapses busy bridge in Vietnam

A busy bridge in northern Vietnam collapsed after being hit by Super Typhoon Yagi, which has killed more than 60 people since making landfall on Saturday.

Dashcam footage showed the moment the Phong Chau bridge in Phu Tho province gave way on Monday, plunging several vehicles into the water below. Searches were under way for 13 people.

Vietnam’s most powerful storm in 30 years has wreaked havoc across the north of the country, leaving 1.5 million people without power.

Although it has now weakened into a tropical depression, authorities have warned Yagi will create more disruption as it moves westwards.

More than 240 people have been injured by the typhoon, which brought winds of up to 203 km/h (126 mph) and is Asia’s most powerful storm so far this year.

Ten cars and two scooters fell into the Red River following the collapse of the Phong Chau bridge, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc said.

The moment a lorry plummeted into the water as the bridge decking ahead fell away before the driver had time to stop was captured on camera.

At least three people have been rescued from the river so far.

Nguyen Minh Hai said he was riding across the bridge on his motorcycle when it collapsed.

“I was so scared when I fell down,” he said, speaking from hospital.

“I feel like I’ve just escaped death. I can’t swim and I thought I would have died.”

Part of the 375-m (1230-ft) structure is still standing, and the military has been instructed to build a pontoon bridge across the gap as soon as possible.

At least 44 of those who died in Vietnam were killed in landslides and flash floods, according to the ministry of agriculture and rural development.

Among them were a 68-year-old woman, a one-year-old boy, and a newborn baby.

The typhoon tore roofs from buildings, uprooted trees, and left widespread damage to infrastructure and factories in the north. Photos by Reuters news agency show that the walls of an LG Electronics factory in Hai Phong city have collapsed.

In the Yen Bai province, flood waters reached a metre high on Monday, with 2,400 families evacuated to higher ground as levels rose, AFP news agency reported.

Nearly 50,000 people have been evacuated from coastal towns in Vietnam, with authorities issuing a warning to remain indoors.

Schools were temporarily closed in 12 northern provinces, including Hanoi.

Nguyen Thi Thom, who owns a restaurant in Ha Long Bay on the north-east coast, said she and many other people had lost everything in the storm.

“There is nothing left. When I look around, people have also lost all they had, just like me,” she said.

“I can only try to recover from this.”

Before hitting Vietnam, Yagi left 24 people dead across southern China and the Philippines.

As the world warms, typhoons can bring higher wind speeds and more intense rainfall, although the influence of climate change on individual storms is complicated.

Additional reporting by BBC Vietnamese

Read our full explainer on the effect of climate change on hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones here.