Super Typhoon Yagi had killed at least four people and injured 78 others in Vietnam, with 13 people still remaining missing as of 17:00 Saturday, according to the state television.
Yagi, the 11th typhoon of the year, roared into the coastal city of Hai Phong in northern Vietnam on Saturday afternoon, with the maximum wind force scale reaching Level 13, or 37.0 to 41.4 meters per second. The typhoon also caused severe damage to power facilities and internet communications in the country, resulting in widespread blackouts and telecommunications outages.
At least six ships were reported to have sunk in the waters of Quang Ninh Province, including five cement boats and one wooden boat, while a transport ship broke anchor and drifted away.
The strong winds have also caused extensive damage to local neighborhoods. Footage showed that the roofs of local homes were ripped, streets were littered with cullets and shattered signborads, with thousands of trees and utility poles reported blown down.
Sea waves up to three meters kept pelting the coast of Hai Phong City when the storm barreled across. Local authorities said that more than 50,000 residents have been evacuated and resettled from risk-prone coastal areas.
Classes have been suspended in schools across 12 provinces of Vietnam, while four airports have halted all flight operations including the Noi Bai International Airport in the capital city of Hanoi, which has canceled more than 300 flights.
The authorities in Hanoi have also suspended bus service and the operation of two subway lines.
4 killed, 78 injured as super typhoon Yagi wrecks havoc in Vietnam
4 killed, 78 injured as super typhoon Yagi wrecks havoc in Vietnam
4 killed, 78 injured as super typhoon Yagi wrecks havoc in Vietnam
A former Peruvian congressman said the recent meeting between the leaders of China and the United States in Peru holds great significance for countries around the world, expressing hope that relations between the two sides would be empowered.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden met in Peru during their attendance to the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima.
Guillermo Aliaga, legal expert and former Peruvian congressman, stressed that the meeting has global implications.
"I think that all the meetings that have been taking place here in Peru because of the APEC (summit) have been really important for both big countries. We don't have usually these kind of spaces where both leaders can have meetings and conversations in front of each other. They can talk about multiple things, including, of course, the security around the world. So I think it is really important," he said.
"If we don't have the appearance of both presidents, we might have some problems in order to take actual decisions. From the Peruvian point of view, we think that the presence of the president of China has been really important, especially to do with the new opening of the megaport that we have in Chancay that will have the new route to go to Shanghai," he said.
The Chancay Port, a project on under the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative, opened on November 14 and is set to enhance trade efficiency between South America and Asia, cutting shipping time to China to 23 days and reducing logistics costs by at least 20 percent.
According to Aliaga, the APEC meetings helped spotlight China's investments in the port and other projects in the eyes of U.S. leadership.
"At the same time, the United States has seen that China is investing right now in South America, especially in Peru. So they can talk between each other in order to see what kind of economic relations can be built or improved (between) both countries. Both countries are the biggest ones right now in the economy of the world. The forum of APEC is really important for not only these two countries and their citizens, it is really important also for the citizens around the world. I think that the relations between the two countries need to be empowered," he said.
Former Peruvian congressman hopes for empowered US-China relations
