The death toll from Typhoon Bualoi in south-east Asia has risen to more than 30 as heavy rains continued to lash the region.
In Vietnam, authorities said 19 people had been killed and 21 were missing, making it the most devastating storm to hit the country this year. Heavy rain on Tuesday raised the risk of more flooding and landslides in northern regions.
Bualoi made landfall in northern central Vietnam on Monday, bringing huge sea swells, strong winds and downpours. Last week the typhoon killed at least 11 people in the Philippines.
In Thailand, the national disaster prevention agency reported flooding in 17 provinces. Ayutthaya, where four people died, was the worst affected, according to the International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent.
The Thai government erected steel plates and added barriers along the Chao Phraya and Pa Sak rivers to protect Ayutthaya’s Unesco-listed temples and ruins, including Wat Chaiwatthanaram, one of the country’s most important temples.
Vietnam’s national weather agency said rainfall in some areas had exceeded 300mm over the past 24 hours and heavy rain was expected to continue, including in the capital, Hanoi. “Landslides and flash floods are likely to happen in several areas over the next six hours,” the agency said.
Many streets in Hanoi were flooded on Tuesday and authorities warned that people close to the Red River, which passes through the city, should take precautions.
Bualoi is heading toward Laos and has been downgraded to a tropical depression, according to Vietnam’s National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
Bualoi’s rains added to last week’s deluge from Typhoon Ragasa. Bualoi was a tropical storm when it made landfall in the Philippines last week and two other tropical storms have since hit the country.
The small Philippine island province of Biliran was the worst hit by Bualoi, with 10 people killed as rain and strong winds triggered flooding and mudflows. Several school buildings, bridges and hundreds of houses were destroyed. Road clearing operation and water rationing continued on Tuesday.
Global warming is making storms such as these stronger and wetter, according to experts, since warmer oceans provide tropical storms with more fuel, driving more intense winds, heavier rainfall and shifting precipitation patterns across the region.
