China Typhoon "Kajiki" swirls towards Vietnam - damage on Hainan
Vietnam is bracing itself for the most violent storm of the year so far: Typhoon "Kajiki" is heading towards the Southeast Asian country with strong winds and heavy rain. Hundreds of thousands of residents should be taken to safety as a precaution.
25.08.2025, 11:15
SDA
The national weather office announced that the storm could make landfall on Monday with wind speeds of up to 166 kilometers per hour. "Kajiki" had maintained its strength for almost 20 hours, the newspaper "VnExpress" quoted meteorologists as saying.
Central coastal provinces in particular, such as Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri and Da Nang, took emergency measures and suspended all shipping traffic in advance. Several airports in the region were closed and dozens of flights were canceled. Early in the morning, the eye of the storm was already around 145 kilometers east of Ha Tinh province. Heavy gusts of wind and rain lashed the streets in several coastal towns.
Comparison with destructive typhoon "Yagi"
Over 16,500 soldiers and more than 100,000 aid workers are on standby for rescue operations. The authorities compared the force of "Kajiki" with the destructive typhoon "Yagi", which claimed around 300 lives and caused severe damage in Vietnam last year.
The Chinese island of Hainan had previously felt the effects of "Kajiki". According to official figures, more than 100,000 people were affected, but no fatalities were initially reported. However, the heavy rainfall and gusts of wind caused trees to topple and many buildings were damaged.
Freight traffic crossing the strait between the port city of Haikou in northern Hainan and Xuwen on the mainland was also affected - according to Chinese state television, 5,000 trucks were waiting here. The authorities had already moved more than 20,000 people to safety the day before in areas that were potentially particularly at risk.
Thailand is also arming itself
Meanwhile, Thailand is also preparing: the weather service warned of heavy rainfall in 35 provinces, including the north, north-east, east and south. Even the capital Bangkok had to be prepared for flooding, it said. The tropical storm is expected to weaken as it passes over Laos, but meteorologists are still expecting heavy rain and flooding until Wednesday.
