HÀ NỘI -- Typhoon Kalmaegi has left five people dead and seven injured across the Central Highlands and central coastal provinces.
The number was revealed under a rapid report released on Friday morning by the Việt Nam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority.
Following the report, Đắk Lắk Province recorded three deaths and two injuries, while Gia Lai Province reported two fatalities and two injuries.
In Quảng Ngãi Province, three people were injured and three others were swept out to sea at around 3pm on Thursday after attempting to rescue a person who had jumped from Lý Sơn Port.
The storm caused 57 houses to collapse, consisting of 45 in Gia Lai Province and 12 in Đắk Lắk Province and damaged or unroofed 2,799 homes (2,412 in Gia Lai Province, 326 in Đắk Lắk Province and 61 in Quảng Ngãi Province).
In Đắk Lắk alone, around 54,000 fish-farming cages were destroyed.
There were 11 fishing vessels (six in Đắk Lắk, one in Quảng Ngãi and four in Gia Lai) reported sunk.
Power outages
The typhoon also severely disrupted power infrastructure, causing 28 incidents on 110kV transmission lines.
A total of more than 1.6 million customers lost electricity, with power restored to over 315,000 by early Friday.
However, more than 1.28 million households remained without power, including 76 in Huế City, 80,900 in Đà Nẵng City, 202,156 in Quảng Ngãi Province, 678,995 in Gia Lai Province, 324,928 in Đắk Lắk Province and 1,566 in Khánh Hòa Province.
In Gia Lai Province, floodwaters washed away the approach road to the Đắk Pờ Tó Bridge at Km378+130 on the Trường Sơn Đông route, with a section roughly 25 metres long and eight metres deep destroyed.
Minor landslides were reported along sections of the Hồ Chí Minh Road, though traffic remained passable.
Local authorities are continuing to survey the affected areas, compile damage assessments and carry out post-storm recovery efforts
Storm weakens
According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, by early Friday morning, the typhoon had weakened into a tropical depression and was further dissipating into a low-pressure system over southern Laos.
At 4am, the system's centre was located near latitude 14.6°N and longitude 106.8°E, with maximum sustained winds below Level 6 (under 39 km/h).
Over the next 12 hours, the low-pressure area is forecast to continue moving west-northwestward and gradually fade.
Between Friday and Saturday, the region from Thanh Hóa Province to northern Quảng Trị Province is expected to receive 50-150 mm of rain, with some areas exceeding 200 mm and a high risk of intense downpours above 100 mm within three hours.
Government support
In a related move, Deputy Prime Minister Hồ Đức Phớc has signed Decision No. 2451/QĐ-TTg on Friday, approving VN80 billion (approximately US$3.04 million) in emergency funding from the 2025 central budget reserve to assist Quảng Ngãi, Gia Lai and Đắk Lắk provinces in overcoming the aftermath of the typhoon.
Under the decision, Quảng Ngãi Province will receive VNĐ20 billion ($761,000), while Gia Lai Province and Đắk Lắk Province will each receive VNĐ30 billion ($1.14 million) to address storm and flood damage and help stabilise the lives of affected residents.
The Ministry of Finance will be responsible for verifying data and ensuring compliance with legal procedures.
Provincial People's Committees are tasked with managing and disbursing the funds in line with State budget regulations, ensuring transparency, accountability and the intended use of the aid.
They must also report back to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other relevant agencies for submission to the Prime Minister. -- VNS