Devastation in Phượng Mao village, Hoằng Giang Commune, the central province of Thanh Hoá after two days being slashed by heavy winds and rains. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Typhoon Bualoi, the tenth storm to strike Việt Nam this year, has devastated northern and central regions, leaving at least 54 people dead or missing and causing estimated economic losses of more than VNĐ8.7 trillion (US$332 million).

The Department of Dyke Management and Disaster Prevention under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said torrential rain, landslides, flash floods and strong winds triggered by the storm have battered 18 provinces and cities.

Thirty-four people have been confirmed dead. Nine were killed by a tornado in the northern province of Ninh Bình on Monday, five died in Thanh Hóa Province, four fishermen perished aboard vessel BV92754 in Quảng Trị Province and others were reported in several other provinces.

Twenty people remain missing, including four in Lào Cai, three in Cao Bằng and four in Tuyên Quang, all northern mountainous provinces, along with eight fishermen from two vessels lost off Quảng Trị in central Việt Nam.

At least 140 others were injured, with Ninh Bình, Hà Tĩnh and Nghệ An among the worst affected.

Local military personnel and police officers have been working around the clock to search for the victims of a flash flood in Đức Long Commune, the northern mountainous province of Cao Bằng. — VNA/VNS Photo

Of the initial loss figure of VNĐ8.78 trillion, the central province of Hà Tĩnh alone accounts for around VNĐ6 trillion and Nghệ An more than VNĐ1.6 trillion.

Housing damage has been severe, with 153 homes destroyed and more than 154,000 damaged or unroofed. Hà Tĩnh alone reported nearly 94,000 damaged houses while Nghệ An counted over 50,000.

Floodwaters inundated or destroyed nearly 49,000ha of rice and crops, with the central provinces of Hà Tĩnh and Thanh Hóa along with the capital Hà Nội reporting the heaviest agricultural losses. More than 1,500 livestock and 380,000 poultry perished, while 13,300ha of aquaculture farms were damaged, most of them in Nghệ An and Thanh Hóa.

The storm also battered infrastructure. Authorities reported 25 dyke incidents across seven provinces, more than 3,000 cases of flooding and landslides disrupting transport and almost 20km of river and coastal embankments eroded, most severely in Huế City.

Widespread flooding in Hà Giang Commune, Tuyên Giang Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

The power grid was badly hit, with 8,294 utility poles toppled, particularly in Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh. Nearly 2.7 million households lost electricity; as of Wednesday afternoon supply had been restored to about 1.93 million, leaving more than 774,000 still without power. Telecommunications also suffered, with 268 communes cut off from the government’s data transmission network and over 1,100 mobile base stations knocked offline.

More than 63,000 roadside trees were uprooted, especially in the central region of Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An and Quảng Trị. Schools were not spared either, with 1,130 educational facilities damaged or disrupted, including 480 in Nghệ An and 427 in Hà Tĩnh. — VNS