Typhoon Noru struck Vietnam’s central coast early Wednesday.
The storm made landfall near the coastal resort city of Danang carrying maximum sustained winds of 117 kilometers an hour — the equivalent of a Category 1 Atlantic hurricane.
Authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of people ahead of Noru’s arrival and prompted authorities to shut down several airports, while local governments imposed curfews, closed schools and canceled public events.
Agence France-Presse reported that Vietnam’s defense ministry has mobilized about 40,000 soldiers and 200,000 militia members equipped with armored vehicles and boats in preparation for rescue and relief operations.
Noru is headed towards Vietnam after leaving a trail of destruction in the Philippines last weekend. Eight people were killed, and nearly 80,000 people were evacuated to emergency shelters as Noru triggered massive flooding and power outages in the capital, Manila, and outlying provinces.
Some information for this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
