Death toll climbs to 199 in Vietnam as typhoon's aftermath brings flash floods and landslides

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Nearly 200 people have died in Vietnam in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi and 128 are missing as flash floods and landslides take their toll, state media reported Thursday.

Vietnam's VNExpress newspaper reported that 199 people have died while more than 800 have been injured.

In the capital, flood waters from the Red River receded slightly but many areas were still inundated with water neck-high in some places.

In Hanoi's Tay Ho district, people waded through muddy brown water above their knees to make their way along one street, some still wearing their bicycle and motorcycle helmets after abandoning their vehicles along the way.

A few paddled along the road in small boats as empty water bottles, a stryofoam cooler and other flotsam drifted by; one man pushed his motorbike toward drier ground in an aluminum sloop.

Pedestrians hiked up their shorts as high as possible to avoid being soaked by the wake caused by a delivery truck powering its way through the water.

Bakery owner Mai Anh evacuated the area with her family to shelter with her parents, but returned Thursday to check on her shop and found more than two feet (half a meter) of water still inside.

“I can't do business with the flood like this,” she said. “The goods in my shop are all destroyed.”

The flooding in Hanoi has been reportedly the worst in two decades.

Residents started evacuating the area Tuesday as the flood waters rose, and power and drinking water have been cut since Wednesday.

The flood waters damaged the doors to Hoang Anh Tu's home, from which he operates a beer shop. Though he and his family were able to relocate to his parents' house, they have had to take turns guarding the building.

“It's very difficult,” he said. “We haven't even been able to assess the damage because the flood came so fast.”

Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades. It made landfall Saturday with winds of up to 149 kph (92 mph). Despite weakening on Sunday, downpours continued and rivers remain dangerously high.

Australia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday said it was providing $2 million in humanitarian relief, emergency supplies and other essential services in response. It said a Royal Australian Air Force transport aircraft had already delivered essential provisions such as shelters and hygiene kits Wednesday night.

The death toll spiked earlier in the week as a flash flood swept away the entire hamlet of Lang Nu in northern Vietnam's Lao Cai province Tuesday.

Hundreds of rescue personnel worked tirelessly Wednesday to search for survivors, but as of Thursday morning 53 villagers remained missing, VNExpress reported, while seven more bodies were found, bringing the death toll there to 42.

Floods and landslides have caused most of the deaths, many of which have come in the northwestern Lao Cai province, bordering China, where Lang Nu is located. Lao Cai province is also home to the popular trekking destination of Sapa.

On Monday, a bridge collapsed and a bus was swept away by flooding, killing dozens of people.

The steel bridge in Phu Tho province over the engorged Red River collapsed, sending 10 cars and trucks along with two motorbikes into the river. The bus carrying 20 people was swept into a flooded stream by a landslide in mountainous Cao Bang province.

Experts say storms like Typhoon Yagi are getting stronger due to climate change, as warmer ocean waters provide more energy to fuel them, leading to higher winds and heavier rainfall.

Rising reported from Bangkok.

A woman carrying food wades in a flooded street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

People wade in a flooded street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Rescue officers carry people on boat in a flooded street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

People carrying belongings wade in flooded street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A woman wades in a flooded street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Local resident Mai Anh, carrying her dog, reacts after seeing her flooded shop in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Sep. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A man pushes his motorbike in a flooded street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A woman carrying her dog wades in a flooded street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Local resident Nguyen Thi Hoa carries food to her home in a flooded street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

People wade in a flooded street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A man pushes his motorcycle in a flooded street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Sep. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

People carrying belongings wade in a flooded street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi, in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Sep. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

Flood triggered by Typhoon Yagi submerges houses in Bac Giang province, Vietnam Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Le Danh Lam/VNA via AP)

A woman paddles a boat on a flooded street, following Typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

A man pushes a stack of plyboards in flood following Typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

The iconic Long Bien bridge is seen on flooded Red river, following Typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

People look on a submerged dragon structure in a playground, following Typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

Mud and debris bury houses in Lang Nu hamlet in Lao Cai province, Vietnam Tuesday, Sep. 10, 2024. (Pham Hong Ninh/VNA via AP)

Vietnam death toll climbs to 197 as typhoon's aftermath brings flash floods and landslides

Vietnam death toll climbs to 197 as typhoon's aftermath brings flash floods and landslides

Rescue workers clear mud and debris brough down by a flood in Lang Nu hamlet in Lao Cai province, Vietnam Tuesday, Sep. 10, 2024. (Pham Hong Ninh/VNA via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential election campaigning revs back up Tuesday, with Donald Trump heading to Michigan and Vice President Kamala Harris answering questions at a forum for Black journalists in Pennsylvania — even as authorities continue to investigate a second apparent assassination attempt against Trump that's roiled the race.

Trump is holding a town hall in Flint, Michigan, and has appearances later in the week in New York, Washington and North Carolina. Harris will participate in a Philadelphia gathering of the National Association of Black Journalists. She skipped the group's recent gathering in Chicago, but an openly antagonistic appearance there by Trump sparked an uproar when he questioned the vice president's racial identity.

Harris has her own stops in Washington, as well as Michigan and Wisconsin, planned in coming days, with both sides zeroing in on the industrial Midwest and Pennsylvania and North Carolina — all battleground areas that could swing an election expected to be exceedingly close.

Trump has claimed, without evidence, that months of criticisms against him by Harris and President Joe Bideninspired the latest attack. That's despite the former president's own long history of inflammatory campaign rhetoric and advocacy for jailing or prosecuting his political enemies.

Both Biden and Harris have so far avoided politics in reacting to the attack. Harris has condemned political violence while Biden has called on Congress to increase funding to the Secret Service.

Authorities say Ryan Wesley Routh camped outside the golf course in West Palm Beach, where Trump was playing on Sunday, for nearly 12 hours with food and a rifle but fled without firing shots when a Secret Service agent spotted and shot at him.

Subsequently arrested, Routh's past online posts suggest the suspect has not been consistent about his politics in terms of supporting Democrats or Republicans.

That attack came barely two months after Trump was wounded during a rally in Pennsylvania. In fundraising emails, he's implored supporters, “Fear not.” During an interview on the X social media platform, Trump recounted his experience Sunday, saying he was golfing with a friend and heard "probably four or five” shots being fired in the air.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaking at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at Harry Reid International Airport to board a plane after a campaign trip, Saturday, Sept.14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)