Vietnam and the Philippines prepare for further flooding by Steph Ball
Vietnam and the Philippines have begun to make preparations for further flooding as two tropical storms head their way.
Tropical Storm Hagibis is the 23rd storm of the Pacific typhoon season and currently lies in the South China Sea having already hit the central and southern Philippines this week. It brought torrential rain and triggered flooding and landslides before moving back out to sea.
Hagibis is now en route for southern Vietnam and is expected to make landfall later in the week. Vietnam has already suffered badly over the last two months from severe flooding. At least 67 people died from floods and landslides caused by Typhoon Lekima, which struck Vietnam last month with winds of 75mph (120km/h). The government of Vietnam has asked nearby countries to offer shelter to thousands of its fisherman as the storm approaches. It could pose a major threat to Southern Vietnam, a region rarely struck by typhoons or tropical storms.
Meanwhile east of the Philippines another storm comes hot on its tail. Tropical Storm Mitag is the 24th storm to form and the third this month to threaten the Philippines. It is forecast to strengthen to a typhoon as it approaches the coast of Luzon on Saturday.
The Philippine President has ordered evacuations in readiness for Mitag, 200,000 people from the province of Albay alone. In the Philippines, seven people died and 600,000 were left without electricity in Luzon after Typhoon Peipah crossed the island earlier this month. With the recent rains having saturated the ground around the Mayon Volcano in the Bicol region, there is a worry that last year’s landslides, which killed more than 1,000 people, could be repeated.
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