By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has reported on Wednesday that a massive disaster response has been launched in Viet Nam after widespread damage by Typhoon Yagi, the most powerful storm to hit the South China Sea in 3 decades.
OCHA said that the storm made landfall on Saturday in northern Vietnam with wind speeds reached 213 kilometres (133 miles) per hour, caused severe flooding and landslides, and forced the evacuation of over 50,000 people.
Some 179 people are killed, including children, according to media reports.
Hundreds of people have been injured and over 47,500 houses damaged or destroyed, OCHA added.
UNICEF said in a bulletin, issued that “The strength and intensity of the typhoon has left a trail of catastrophic consequences, with millions of families severely affected in coastal as well as mountainous and hard-to-reach areas”.
The agency estimates that 5.5 million children are the 19 million people living in the most affected regions.
The authorities have launched a comprehensive relief effort, deployed over 438,000 officials, soldiers, disaster response experts and volunteers.
The Government has invited the support of all disaster response and humanitarian actors, including UNICEF, to support the response.
UNICEF is actively coordinating with UN entities and partners to assess needs and provide urgent support in areas such as child protection, water and sanitation, nutrition, health, and education.
“A supply plan has been activated to mobilize pre-positioned essential supplies, at the national level and in warehouses across the region, and through our global supply division, if needed,” the agency added.
Typhoon Yagi’s path of destruction extended to neighboring countries, with casualties and damage reported in the Philippines and China, OCHA said.
It added that 21 fatalities were recorded in the Philippines by the national disaster management authorities, with 26 people still missing as of Wednesday.
Media reported that four people were killed and 100 injured across the Hainan Island in the south of China.
OCHA concluded that the combined effects of the monsoon and tropical disturbances also resulted in flash floods in northern Laos and Thailand.
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