Typhoon Wipha causes $144mn in damage in Vietnam’s Nghe An

Typhoon Wipha caused nearly VND3.8 trillion ($144 million) in damage in Vietnam’s Nghe An Province, according to local authorities.

Housing losses were the most significant, totaling VND1.5 trillion ($57 million), with 450 houses completely destroyed, 5,426 submerged and their contents ruined, and 1,601 damaged by landslides and flooding, Tuoi Tre News reported.

The storm also inundated over 107,000 hectares of rice crop across northern Vietnam.

Storm Wipha made landfall in Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces on July 22, with sustained winds of level 8 (62-74 kilometers per hour) and gusts of up to level 10 (89-102 kilometers per hour).

Ministry to build, repair 1,000 homes

The Ministry of Public Security, in coordination with local authorities, will repair or rebuild 1,000 homes severely affected by the disaster, according to the Tuoi Tre News report.

The VND65-billion ($2.4-million) initiative, announced by the Nghe An Provincial Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Committee on August 6, will fund the construction of 500 new houses for families whose homes were destroyed, swept away, or required urgent relocation, each receiving VND100 million ($3,800).

Another 500 damaged houses will be repaired with VND30 million ($1,100) each.

The plan also includes rebuilding heavily damaged schools, the report said.

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My Ly Commune among hardest hit

During the ministry’s visit in Nghe An on August 5, the delegation also met with residents, teachers, and students in hard-hit My Ly Commune to offer encouragement and assistance.

A handwritten emergency report from My Ly Commune Border Guard Commander Lieutenant Colonel Hoang The Ngoc detailed the scale of destruction.

150 homes were swept away, more than 200 homes were flooded, the Yen Hoa suspension bridge was destroyed, and National Highway 16 was severely damaged.

On August 12, the ministry and the province launched a 40-day reconstruction campaign to help communities devastated by the storm, with the goal of rebuilding homes and schools ahead of the new academic year.

The initiative includes building 500 houses for displaced families in western Nghe An’s mountainous communes, reconstructing the My Ly 2 Ethnic Semi-Boarding Primary School, and restoring the My Ly Commune Health Station, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Provincial authorities also provided livelihood support to poor households in 17 hard-hit communes.

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