Typhoon Wutip leaves three dead in central Vietnam

Hanoi, June 14 Typhoon Wutip, the first typhoon of this year, has caused severe flooding in central Vietnam, leaving three people dead, local media reported on Saturday.

Two victims died in Trieu Phong district of Quang Tri province during flood prevention efforts, while another was drowned in Hai Lang district, reports Xinhua, quoting Vietnam News Agency.

In neighbouring Quang Binh province, four people remain missing as search and rescue teams continue to expand operations under improving weather conditions.

Floodwaters have submerged more than 21,000 hectares of rice fields, along with thousands of hectares of vegetables and aquaculture ponds, while tens of thousands of poultry have been killed, according to the report.

Severe flooding also inundated homes, disrupted traffic, and forced evacuations in both lowland and mountainous areas, though river levels are gradually receding.

Meanwhile, Typhoon Wutip also made its second landfall near Leizhou City in south China's Guangdong Province at around 12:30 a.m. (local time) on Saturday, according to the provincial meteorological observatory.

At the time of landfall, Wutip had weakened to a severe tropical storm, with a maximum wind speed of 30 metres per second near its centre and a central minimum pressure of 980 hectopascals.

Wutip had initially made landfall near Dongfang City in south China's island province of Hainan around 11 p.m. on Friday.

It is expected to move northeast at a speed of 20 to 25 km per hour, skirting the border area between Guangdong and Guangxi, while gradually weakening in intensity.

Tens of thousands of people had been evacuated to safety.

As of 8 p.m. Thursday, the province had evacuated a total of 16,561 people from construction sites, low-lying flood-prone areas, and regions at risk of flash floods.

All the province's 30,721 fishing vessels had either returned to ports or taken shelter elsewhere, with over 40,000 people working on the vessels having been evacuated ashore.

Wutip developed over the South China Sea on Wednesday, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).

In recent summers, China has faced a series of extreme weather events, ranging from intense heatwaves and droughts to heavy rainfall and flooding.

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