Typhoon Bualoi damages more than 135,000 homes in Vietnam

Vietnam's most devastating storm this year brought heavy rains that triggered floods across its north, disrupting flights and train services with the capital, Hanoi, where schools were closed and many homes inundated, authorities said on Tuesday.

The death toll rose to 26, with 22 missing, state media said a day after Typhoon Bualoi made landfall in northern central Vietnam, bringing huge sea swells, strong winds and downpours.

"Water is flowing into my living room," said 49-year-old Hanoi resident Hoang Quoc Uy. "I've never seen anything like this before."

Flag carrier Vietnam Airlines cancelled and rescheduled several flights with the capital's Noi Bai international airport "for the safety of passengers," it said.

"The weather condition in Hanoi is evolving in a complicated manner, with stormy rains that affect visibility and operations," it added.

State-run Vietnam Railways Corp has also suspended most of its services between Hanoi and the business hub of Ho Chi Minh City, a company official said.

Rainfall exceeded 300 mm (12 inches) in several parts of Vietnam over the past 24 hours, the national weather agency said, as it warned of a risk of landslides and flash flooding.

Thunder and lightning accompanied persistent downpours that flooded streets in downtown Hanoi and paralysed traffic in many areas. Photographs on state media showed cars and motorbikes marooned in the water, many with dead engines.

Several schools closed by mid-day.

Villages in northern central Vietnam were flooded with no road access or power, state media said, while waters rose close to the roofs of houses in villages in Nghe An province, images on state broadcaster VTV showed.

"All of my belongings have been damaged, all gone," Ngo Thi Loan, a 56-year-old in the province, told Reuters, adding that the typhoon blew off the roof of her home, leaving it half-a-metre deep in flood water.

The government said 105 people were injured and more than 135,000 homes damaged, most of them in the provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh, while more than 25,500 hectares (63,000 acres) of rice and crops had been inundated.

With a long coastline facing the South China Sea, Vietnam is prone to typhoons that often also bring heavy rains that cause severe flooding. Last week, Bualoi killed at least 10 in the Philippines.

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